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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at 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 displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal 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 bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."