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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

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

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. 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 helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

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

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."