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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."