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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. 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 defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him 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 straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find 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 canvas. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."