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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," 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 straight right finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "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 poor impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

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

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."