🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, 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 shortly find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."