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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."