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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral 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 serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas 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 looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The objective 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 anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed 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.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe 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 return and keep on winning."