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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

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 get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler 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 needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate 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 ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."