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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 canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle 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 run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, 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 sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."