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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral 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 boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

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 wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "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 come back and continue winning."