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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down 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 straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. 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 departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."