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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity 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 dismal spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery 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 last 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 that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."