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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer 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 tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, 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 consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last 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 attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

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

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."