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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 shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped 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 gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired 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 big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe 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 continue winning."