🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much 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 are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."