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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers 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 say "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, 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 jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might 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 streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."