Jake Paul mocks Paris crowd before first fight since Anthony Joshua broke his jaw

Paul faces Doumbe on 24 December at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, his first fight since Anthony Joshua broke his jaw 12 months ago.

Jake Paul answered repeated chants of "F*ck you" from French fans at Tuesday's press conference in Paris by mocking the city over its recent riots and telling the crowd to be quiet.

The press conference was the first face-off between Paul and Cedric Doumbe, who meet on 24 December at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. It is Paul's first fight since Anthony Joshua broke his jaw 12 months ago.

Boos greeted Paul as soon as he spoke, and he referred to the recent riots in Paris that followed civil unrest. He said: “You should boo yourself. Didn’t this place burn down? This could have been a Zoom call. Why the f*ck are we here? What is this?” Paul also told the crowd his great-grandfather had died in the Second World War and that the French owed their freedom to his family. When the chants returned throughout the event, he swore back at the audience and said he had heard far louder booing elsewhere.

Doumbe, who has excelled in kickboxing and MMA, dismissed the threat Paul poses despite the American's greater boxing experience and the size advantage he will hold on fight night. Doumbe said he was training only to make the weight, not to deal with any of Paul's skills, and called him a good YouTuber but not a fighter.

He also pointed out that Paul and Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian are running the 24 December event. Doumbe said: “I want to thank Nakisa because that’s the first time I will face my boss and knock him out. My boss pays me to knock him the f*ck out, that’s crazy.” Doumbe said his coach wanted him to drag the fight out rather than finish it early, leaving him to choose between a second-round knockout and one in the seventh or eighth round.

Asked why Doumbe was not on the list of targets he recently shared on social media, which included Canelo Alvarez, Conor McGregor, Ryan Garcia, Darren Till and Nate Diaz, Paul called Doumbe a world champion with a large following who was still at the top of his sport. He said the fight made the most sense, adding that Doumbe is Muslim and the bout is being staged in Dubai.

Paul returned to the riots when looking ahead to fight night. He said: “Just like their city burned down, I’m going to burn this guy to the ground.”

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