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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "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 succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a 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 serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard 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 social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much 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 Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains 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 leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."