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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not 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 separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."