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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist 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 ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make 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 grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."