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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle 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 no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."