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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed 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 ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."