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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 pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science 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 this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite 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 left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."