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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed 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 certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "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 mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

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

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."