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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. 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 that is what it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."