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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted 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 tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, 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 heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely 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 highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."