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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud 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 red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit 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 continue winning."