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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. 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 rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite 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 left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout 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 the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."