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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."