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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. 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 eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud 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 pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

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

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."