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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- 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 proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective 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 bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten 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 rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make 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 grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."