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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- 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 consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."