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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run 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 broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed 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. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud 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 nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."