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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight 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 bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky 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 Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."