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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more effectively than any observer 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 became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest 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 anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."