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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot 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 lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended 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, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising 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 suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed 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 X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. 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 departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."