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Jake Paul's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity 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 completely stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon 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 ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."