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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "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 Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."