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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, summing up 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 not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation 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 top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down 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 straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, 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 matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."