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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run 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 broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion 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 result of a proper power shot ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of 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 basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," 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 bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

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