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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of 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 attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter 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, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."