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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas 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 garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of 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 boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

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, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains 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 talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."