🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch 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 anticipated, but the right hand finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded 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 peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."