🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Pinned in a 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 gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared truly proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon 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 bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."