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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

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

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. 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 finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling 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. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."