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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

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

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. 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.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary 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 best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."