🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a neutral 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 gravity of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot 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 hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean punch meant Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the contest. Instead of exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best 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 mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."