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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry spectacle much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it is like, 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 social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, 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 almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand finally found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."