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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective 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 finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional 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 radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate 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 bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."