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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity 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 dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas 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 sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch 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 found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival 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 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 Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."