🔗 Share this article

Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped 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 attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. 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 eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded 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 men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn 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 one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."