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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 shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

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

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, 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 power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its destination."

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

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."