JAKE PAUL has doubled down on retirement from boxing if he loses to Cedric Doumbe – as it will KO his world title hopes for good.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer returns against French kickboxing great Doumbe on December 24 in Dubai.

And he has claimed he will hang up his gloves if he is beaten in his comeback bout – reaffirming his promise at the launch press conference.

Paul said: “I’m 100% retiring if I lose to this guy. For sure.

“He’s never been in there with someone like me in boxing. It’s a completely different sport, that’s what he doesn’t understand.

“I know he’s going to bring a tough fight, but it’s just not going to be enough, and that’s it at the end of the day.”

Paul, 29, returns for the first time since being knocked by Anthony Joshua, 37, in December of last year.

He needed TWO surgeries and only got cleared to fight again in September.

In his bout before, Paul beat former middleweight world champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 40, to earn a No14 rank in the WBA’s cruiserweight division.

And the 12-2 American is still pursuing his lofty ambition of winning a world title in the boxing ring.

Paul said: “Yeah, 100 per cent it’s possible.

“To any kid watching out there, to anyone around the world, anything you set your mind to and put in the work to match it is possible.

“People really don’t believe that, and that’s why they stay in one place their whole entire lives, and I’m the living definition of anything is possible.

“This is just the start of my career. I’m just getting comfortable as a boxer, and within the next two to three years, becoming world champion is already possible for sure.

“I’ve been in the top ten of cruiserweight rankings already, and the experience and fights that I’ve had in the past 18 months have proven to make me so much better in sparring.

“People haven’t even seen this version of me that they’re going to see on December 24th.”

Paul has faced criticism throughout his career for taking on stars of the MMA world – but he insisted kickboxing legend Doumbe is just a warm-up fight.

He said: “We’re ready for this guy. Kickboxing world champion, Glory champion, one of the best in MMA. This guy’s great. He is great. Very bien.

“But he’s getting knocked the fuck out on Christmas Eve. Kickboxing will not help him, people.

“On December 24th, the legs will just be used for transportation. This is boxing. He’s gonna learn a very, very hard lesson.

“And at the end of the day, he’s still a tune-up fight for me.”