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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."