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

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon 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 ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."