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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for 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 downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think 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 come back and keep on winning."