🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."