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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not 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 distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him 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 right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."