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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned 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 boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, 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 result of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down 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 right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: 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 demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."