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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle 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 became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- 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 proper punch ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective 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 little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery 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 last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make more than $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 bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."