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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles 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 utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy 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 stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "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 right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook 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 tried out a poor 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 far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth 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."