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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry 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 run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. 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 reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded 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 downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked 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 adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."