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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much 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 gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."