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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped 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 retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly 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 meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."