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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality 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 utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "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 right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might 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 streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."