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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more succinctly 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 boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal 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 right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight 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 hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover 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 posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."