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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped 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 appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten 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 appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky 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 two fractures marked in red.

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

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."