Yeah boxing needed this for its own sake. It's a real shame for Francis and you can tell there was a real point of realisation for him in the post-fight conference (although I have no idea how they OK someone who got so badly knocked out to conduct interviews within the hour
).
Joshua told him to not give up, but that's exactly how the gulf is supposed to look.
Francis will have lost his mystique now, so those crazy pay days are over unless he takes the arduous journey to becoming a rounded pro and earns big money off the merit of that.
The biggest loser in all this is Fury, however, he's really being looked down on since that last display and he has to reestablish dominance, if he has it.
I really think he's slowing a bit and losing some of his reflexive counters, but that remains to be seen especially so since he looks the fittest and leanest of his career in preparation for this upcoming fight.