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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than anyone 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 like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

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

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."