Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.
"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else could.
Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat 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 separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.
So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly 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 meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.
A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor
Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.
Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was 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 request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."
Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."
What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent
In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.
In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.
Paul's Defiant Reaction
But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.
That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.
While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."
