🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming 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 registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry 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 cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying 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, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might 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 tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."