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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more effectively than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview 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 probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared 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 pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."