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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed 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 certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked 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 love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."