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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 the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "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 bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."