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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

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

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly 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 proper power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down 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 found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait 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 have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."