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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to 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 attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get 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 found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "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."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit 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 adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."