🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist 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 consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of 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 basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "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 right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both men 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 is still the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."