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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped 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 shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery 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 shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

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

In contrast, the most interesting 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. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."