🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral 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 caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. 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 target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery 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 rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive 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 hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly 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 another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."