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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a 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 the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist 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 result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty 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 fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."