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Jake Paul's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

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

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former 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 meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, 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 seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."