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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral 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 the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him 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 right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "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 shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."