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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist 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 result of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. 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 less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."