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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get 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 anticipated, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely 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 contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed truly proud 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 nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."