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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 following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."