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Jake Paul's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."