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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul could not get up 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 at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: 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 called for a scrap against the presently inactive 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 heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."