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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion 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 rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "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 straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."