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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not 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 dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. 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 stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

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

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."