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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer 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 punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."