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

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found its destination."

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

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

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

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."