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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- 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 punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get 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 anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."