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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a 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 gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him 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 right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."