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

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling 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 distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

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 referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," 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 bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."

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

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."