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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"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 bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."