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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity 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 completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

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, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to 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 said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."