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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming 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 blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated 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 fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may 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 departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating 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."