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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."