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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "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 mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little 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."