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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity 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 that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down 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 straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head 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 demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."