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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

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

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."