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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "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 straight right finally reached its destination."

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

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."