Drake Riggs Uncrowned Mon, November 2, 2026 at 8:48 PM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Darren Till won't be returning to the boxing ring before 2027, after all.
News broke Monday morning that Jake Paul's Christmas Eve return bout in Dubai is officially set , with "The Problem Child" returning to action for the first time since breaking his jaw against Anthony Joshua last December. While rumors initially suggested Paul could be lined up to take on Till, he'll instead face PFL star Cédric Doumbé.
Speaking on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show," a frustrated Till claimed that he agreed to a price for the Paul match and that Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) reached out to him first. But ultimately, Till said, things went in another direction.
"I thought we were all good to go," Till told Uncrowned. "I've been in camp for the past two weeks with my coach. ... And out of nowhere, this f***ing daft fight gets announced with Cédric Doumbé. I don't think anyone outside of his own household even knows who he is."
"Jake probably just wants to see how his jaw's holding up against someone who weighs about 150 pounds on a good day," Till added. "It's just a fraudulent show. Everyone's a fraud. Jake's a fraud. [Nakisa Bidarian's] a little fraud, wasting my time. Couldn't give a f***. Not arsed.
"If you want to fight me next year, fight me next year. But yeah. I've just wasted about [$6,705] getting my coach out here for camp and stuff like that, but it doesn't matter. It's all good."
The choice of Doumbé may be out of left field to an extent, but historically it's also par for Paul's course, as Doumbé has been focused on MMA since 2021, hasn't fought since May 2024 and hasn't boxed professionally since his lone pro bout 11 years ago.
Till believes the pairing just further embodies Paul's career as a whole, continuing a trend of competing against undersized non-boxers.
"Jake Paul, he's a clear, clear juice-head. Look at him, mate, he's a fat juice-head. There's a fact for you," Till said. "Cédric Doumbé's 170 pounds. I'm not taking anything away from the guy — fantastic MMA fighter and kickboxing career. He's not a f***ing boxer, mate. I've honed my skills for the last three years in boxing with my coach and training alongside all these world-class fighters.
"Jake Paul's 220, 225 pounds. ... You've got to look past all the bulls***. It's the same as I say with Dana [White] — I've got nothing but respect for Dana, but there's reporters asking Dana questions that we want to know, and Dana just gets all angry. Why you getting angry? You're a grown man. Answer the f***ing question whether you like it or not. Take your stupid little ego out of the equation and answer the f***ing question."
Till, 33, has not fought in MMA since leaving the UFC in early 2023. He's been undefeated in competition since, winning four boxing matches, then entering the world of bare-knuckle boxing with BKFC. Till has already won his first two appearances with the bare-knuckle leader, knocking out Aaron Chalmers in his May debut before recently earning a hard-fought decision nod over fellow UFC veteran Yoel Romero in September.
In the end, the Brit isn't amused by the shenanigans he believes Paul and the boxing world as a whole often pull. So he'll sit back and await his next move, which will likely come in the BKFC ring.
"Are we all just going to buy into this fight because he's clever at marketing?" Till said. "Once you look past all the smoke and mirrors and the bulls***, what kind of fight is this? It's a farce again.
"It's the same with the [Anthony] Joshua-[Tyson] Fury thing — it's a farce for Eddie [Hearn] and them to make $100 million, and we're all the dickheads who get sold farce fights. Same as [Floyd] Mayweather fighting [Manny] Pacquiao back in his career — it's a space full of frauds. There's only a few real men left."
Source: Sports
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