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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after 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 rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

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

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."