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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much 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 hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."