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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, 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 almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably 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 stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely 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 two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."