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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity 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 looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas 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 delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not 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 bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted 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 bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado 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 return and continue winning."