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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated 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 left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua commended 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 loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark 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. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely 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."