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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 looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "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 anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."