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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."