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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

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

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, 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 sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."