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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective 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 little more time than expected, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury 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 downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."