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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion 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 power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win 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 suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak summary 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 proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."