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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

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

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

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

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."