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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned 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 broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" 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 punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch 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 anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised 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 fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."