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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

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

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Comments

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

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit 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."