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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity 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 is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber 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 official called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, 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 mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."