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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow 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 exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make 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 one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."