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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get 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 target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might 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 leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."