Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.
"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than any observer else managed to.
Trapped in a 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 boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.
So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.
It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.
Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.
Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.
"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually reached its target."
Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."
In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.
In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain 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. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.
But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.
That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate 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 canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."
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