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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped 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 say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public wants, 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 wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. 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 ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."