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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, 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 looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Pinned 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 serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."