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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."