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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 mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward 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 escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him 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 offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."