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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

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

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth 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 step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."