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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely 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 interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."