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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative 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 flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest 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 expected, but the straight right finally found 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 hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, 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 big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."