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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"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 thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

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

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."