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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned 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 tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, 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 knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level 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 performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for 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 certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."