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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else could.

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

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. 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 most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him 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 straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."