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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a 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 gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."