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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair far 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 run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during 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 cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn 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 one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."