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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch 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 expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."