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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught 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 social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding 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 precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

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

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."