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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former 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 clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down 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 eventually found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "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 love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."