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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped 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 in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, 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 social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more 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 nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."