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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."