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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank 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 severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch 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 hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."