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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral 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 gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle 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 professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."