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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is 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 leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."