🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing became clear. 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 is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, 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 bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. 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 likely have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."