🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair 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 no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

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 taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."