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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely 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 the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado 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 love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."