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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more effectively than anyone else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down 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 right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."