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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 after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot meant Paul could not 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 jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor impression 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 careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."