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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal 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 little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."