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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat 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 shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

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

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."