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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling 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 lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result 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 leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest 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 anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

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

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

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

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."