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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite 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 rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn 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 bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."