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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 following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned 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 like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."