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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, 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 sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."