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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. 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 finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head 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 have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."