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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair far more effectively than anyone else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid 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 most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow 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, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally found its target."

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

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. 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 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 stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."