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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing 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 that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

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 canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."