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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, 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 result of a proper power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out 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 professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed 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 radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."