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Jake Paul's jaw dropped 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 looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival 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 fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."