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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the dismal 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 retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."