Miami bout was a bleak and blood-flecked affair but both men will find more opponents willing to take the money
Jake Paul’s mouth opened wide, and his eyes became huge glazed saucers, as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua finally ended the circus in Miami late on Friday night. It looked as if Paul was trying to say “Wow!” as the severity of impact registered in his scrambled brain.
Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua’s legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in his utterly stunned moment.
So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. Wow is the word.
It was the fourth time that the former YouTuber had been knocked down but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to rise to his feet and waggle his tongue defiantly at Joshua before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.
