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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal spectacle far more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and keep on winning."