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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than any observer 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 in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best display," 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 anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview 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 get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak 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 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 keep on winning."