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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

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

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite 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 finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, 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 added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think 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 shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."