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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy 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 completely stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head 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 Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, 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 compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, 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 early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."