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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality 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 that is what it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," 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 thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."