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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

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

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch 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 looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. 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 radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe 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 love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."