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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through 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 broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

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 probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned 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 less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."