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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on 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 broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow 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 contest. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated 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 left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "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 right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded 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 stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk 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 rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."