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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles 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 "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer 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 gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "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 that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."