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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive 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 most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find 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 canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."