Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.
"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more succinctly than any observer else managed to.
Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible 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 former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.
It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.
An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor
Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.
Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.
The Winner's Aftermath Comments
"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally reached its target."
Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."
The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars
In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.
In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still 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 required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.
Paul's Unbowed Response
But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.
That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.
During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."
