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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot 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 struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. 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 fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest 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 mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."