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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

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 get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty 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 contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

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

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor impression of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."