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

"The audience didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral 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 boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly 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 often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best 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 bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied 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 pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked 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 do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."