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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

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

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, 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 north of $50 million.

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