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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."