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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" 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 much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how 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 word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical 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 hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. 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 helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "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 mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally found its target."

Joshua commended 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 hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "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 love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."