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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 stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch 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 hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky 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 two fractures highlighted in crimson.

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

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly 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 come back and continue winning."