Alistair Overeem is fighting again, and he’s doing it in boxing gloves. Ariel Helwani reported Thursday that Overeem vs. Jimi Manuwa has been added to the Dec. 24 Jake Paul vs. Cédric Doumbé card as a heavyweight boxing match. Helwani noted it will be Overeem’s first fight of any kind since October 2022. Most Valuable Promotions made it official on X on Friday, billing the pairing as “combat sports legends” set for a heavyweight showdown. Yardbarker ran the story under a headline about an ex-UFC title challenger confirming a boxing showdown on the card, and the Overeem vs. Manuwa booking is the crossover heavyweight fight MVP rolled out this week.
The event goes down Thursday, Dec. 24, at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. Paul vs. Doumbé headlines. The co-main is a rematch between Chantelle Cameron and Mikaela Mayer, with the unified super welterweight world championship on the line. About half an hour after posting the poster on Friday, MVP announced another addition: undefeated prospect Jahmal Harvey against Craig Morgan in an eight-round lightweight bout. Tickets go on sale Sunday, Nov. 15.
MVP’s posts didn’t include a round count for Overeem vs. Manuwa, so that detail is still to come.
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The main event is already loud
Paul and Doumbé have wasted no time getting nasty. Happy Punch posted a clip of the exchange Thursday, with Doumbé telling Paul, “If you win, I retire.”
Paul’s reply: “I didn’t even know you existed before this. No one gives a f*ck about your retirement.”
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That’s a cold line, and Paul clearly knows it. Championship Rounds also posted a video of Paul recreating the brawl between Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili, which tells you exactly what kind of energy he’s bringing to this promotion. He’s trolling, he’s posting, and he’s daring everyone to keep watching.
Quick take
I’m in on Overeem vs. Manuwa. Is it a fight that decides anything in the boxing rankings? No. But a big-money crossover card on Christmas Eve needs names that make a casual fan lean toward the screen, and two heavyweight strikers with real fight résumés trading in a boxing ring does exactly that. The four-year layoff is the obvious red flag. Overeem hasn’t competed since October 2022, and ring rust at heavyweight shows up fast, usually right on the chin. Still, MVP has built a card with a genuine title rematch in Cameron vs. Mayer, an unbeaten prospect in Harvey, and a main event where the trash talk is already better than most UFC pay-per-view build-ups. That’s how you put together a card people actually want to buy. I just hope the Overeem vs. Manuwa face-off has half the bite of Paul’s retirement line. We’ll find out on Dec. 24 in Dubai, and tickets open this Sunday.
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