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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling 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 twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity 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 spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "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 sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."