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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity 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 stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse 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."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly 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 keep on winning."