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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

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

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."