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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

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

Trapped 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 gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often 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 boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."