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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, 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 could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal 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

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "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 little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last 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 press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."