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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral 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 boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, 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 get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far 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 remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."