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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."