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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles 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 utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas 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 looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. 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 medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."