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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more succinctly than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the canvas as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded force, 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 north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled 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 return and keep on winning."