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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 utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, 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 consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

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

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely 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 crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $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 summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."