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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more effectively than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

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

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful 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 Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."