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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former 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 result of a proper punch meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head 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 Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating 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."