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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former 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 taunt his opponent before the official called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."