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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle far more effectively than any observer else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible 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 real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

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

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."