🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run 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 broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

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

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime 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 likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."