🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a proper punch ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache spread through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, 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 finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul appeared genuinely proud and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."