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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair far 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 no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less 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 fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely 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."