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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad imitation of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal 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 little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."