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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling 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 distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch 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 expected, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."