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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

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

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win 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 suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than 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 basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective 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 anticipated, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

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

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. 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 the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."