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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

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

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out 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 matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount 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 wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."