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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally reached its target."

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

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."