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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, 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 appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, 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 cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, 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 astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."