Anthony Joshua & Paul Produce a Sorry Display and the Most Troubling Part is There's More to Follow
The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.
"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more succinctly than anyone else could.
Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.
So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.
It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not rise 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 finally understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.
A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua
Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.
Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.
The Winner's Post-Fight Comments
"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "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 mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally reached its target."
Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."
What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent
In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.
In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.
Paul's Defiant Reaction
But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly 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 highlighted in red.
That jokey nod to Saรบl "Canelo" รlvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.
During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."
