Anthony Joshua & Jake Paul Deliver a Regrettable Display and the Worst Aspect is More is to Follow

Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

Trapped in a neutral 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 the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, 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 knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective 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 straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation 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 professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, 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 gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."