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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, 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 proper punch ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting 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, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "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 little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."