🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot 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 dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level 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 rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down 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 finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler 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 would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."