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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone 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 attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official 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, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From 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 hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"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 thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."