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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, 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 proper power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, 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 bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."