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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch 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 is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation 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. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied 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 conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting 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 on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."