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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make 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 another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."