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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling 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 fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal 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 little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for 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 Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, 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 send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."