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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

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

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. 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 eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

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

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely 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."