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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. 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 found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."