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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "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 eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," 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 press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."