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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless 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.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him 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 eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."