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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle 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 no longer 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 attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."