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

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more effectively than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

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

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get 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 anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked 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 remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."