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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant 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 flee any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

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

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."