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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising 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 rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

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, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap 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 peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. 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 posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."