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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what 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 certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might 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 tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."