2023-10-03 17:44:35
Was Cédric Doumbè more impressive on Saturday in the cage or on the microphone in hand? With the freakish MMA fighter, it’s always hard to tell. But unlike usual, “The Best” put away the jokes in the locker room, time for a reaction after his quick fight against Jordan Zebo, dispatched in 9 seconds. “You know very well who took this knockout, it’s not Jordan, it’s the one who hit his ex-wife. It is the violence against women that I knock out. »
Without naming him, Doumbè targeted Fernand Lopez, trainer of Ciryl Gane and media personality of French MMA, with whom he maintains a rivalry. “I am a strong advocate for women. I really wanted people to know what my second struggle is. And finally my first fight,” asked the former kickboxer.
“Its role is also to be a spokesperson”
“His role is to denounce, but not to comment and to do the work of justice and journalists,” commented for 20 Minutes David Foucher, his manager. He did it with emotion, it affected him directly because it was a member of our staff who was targeted [la nutritionniste de Cédric Doumbè]. Its role is also to be a spokesperson. »
In 2020, the athlete gave voice in an awareness clip for the Maison des Femmes, a place to support women victims of violence. “A boxer, who embodies this virile side, the testosterone, the fight in the octagon, who is committed to the fight, that had a great meaning,” summarizes his manager.
“What does it mean to be a man, a real one”, explained Cédric Doumbè in this one-minute clip, before moving on to this theme. Having a personality of Doumbè’s caliber makes it possible to raise awareness among a young audience who would not necessarily have heard feminist associations on the subject, considers Violaine de Filippis, spokesperson for Osez le feminisme, contacted by 20 Minutes.
“It was interesting to have his opinion on this cause, because it’s a bit against the grain, and it helped attract the attention of the public who didn’t expect it,” confided Ghada Hatem, gynecologist and founder of the Maison des femmes in 2016, who specifies that it is “important that men get involved in this cause”.
“His notoriety, an asset” for the cause
Since then, the spot has been broadcast “in schools and prisons” and the athlete has had the opportunity to speak on a few occasions. It’s never enough, recognizes his manager, but the time constraints linked to high-level sport are drastic. “A boxer must lose 15 kilos in two months before a fight, train twice a day, have a series of medical appointments. It’s a bit like the life of a Shaolin monk,” describes David Foucher.
Faced with these imperatives, the growing popularity of this jack of all trades, also an actor, could also push him to become more involved in the future. “It is obvious that his notoriety is an asset,” says Ghada Hatem, who has reconnected with Doumbè and is considering another action to take.
Saturday, at the Zénith in Paris, Cédric Doumbè’s accusations pushed Fernand Lopez to react. In the columns from the Parisianthe boss of the influential MMA Factory training center admitted to having been sentenced to four months suspended sentence for domestic violence.
“I raised my hand on my ex-partner, a slap, it was a disaster,” admitted the coach, describing his gesture as “inexcusable” and portraying a couple who committed mutual violence. A claim denied on Instagram by the victim. “The victim is me, plus my daughter who saw everything. And I refuse to be made to appear as a violent woman and that the situation would have gotten out of hand. This is false,” she wrote. A few hours before, Cédric Doumbè, who had frequented Fernand Lopez’s room a few years ago, had published an extract from the judgment on his networks. So that his 800,000 followers on Instagram are informed of all the details of the affair.
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