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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly 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 get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon 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 streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."