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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat 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 feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."