🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not 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 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 feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to flee any more, and resorting to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get 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 eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he posted an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and said: "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 return and keep on winning."