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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- 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 proper power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor 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 far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly 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 ring floor. It was another grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."