🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "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 mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."