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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are 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 rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."