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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine 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 sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow 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 glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

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

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."