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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught 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. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor 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: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."