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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "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 reached its destination."

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

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted 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 needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe 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 sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."