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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

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 execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival 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 far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."