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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him 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 right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. 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 canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."