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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest 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 mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope 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 weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."