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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral 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 enveloped him. 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 is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "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 jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find another opponent with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."