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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the rust, 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 impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."