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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned 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 certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "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 sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."