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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. 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 is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I think 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 continue winning."