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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

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

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of 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 fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, 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 finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol 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 best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."