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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 trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on 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 punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, 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 amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "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 cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."