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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly 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 stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."