🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled 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 in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- 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 consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, 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 courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-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 press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

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

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."