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Jake Paul'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 trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a 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 gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper 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."