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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, 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 sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight 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 downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."