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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality 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 dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" 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 ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, 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 tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."