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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."