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

"The fans didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped 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 not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape 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 brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."