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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."