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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not 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 radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse 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 shook off the cobwebs, 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 Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "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 shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."