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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating 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 scrambled senses.

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

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective 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 found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters 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 undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I think 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 shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."