🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, 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 ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul could not get up 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 spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal 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 rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective 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 bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed 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 X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn 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 one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."