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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."