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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," 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 mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor 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 professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished 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 hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."