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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, 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 sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

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 probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."