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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more effectively 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 hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine 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 punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."