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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans 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 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 boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. 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 destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating 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."