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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."

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

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark 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 twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

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

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."