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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested 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 seemed tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

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

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive 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 hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."