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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

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 boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."