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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not 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 attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory 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 precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't 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 anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

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

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."