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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

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

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."