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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 shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion 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 clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated 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 finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch 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 eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."