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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "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 dismal spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch 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 finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much 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 the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."