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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

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

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy 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 completely stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, 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 consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook 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 cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising 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 astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."