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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called 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 perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its target."

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

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."