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

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former 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 consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

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

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "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 return and keep on winning."