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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- 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 punch meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest 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 thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely 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 interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, 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 blunt truth with blood-flecked 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 step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."