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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. 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 feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."