🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more effectively than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a neutral corner of the ring midway through 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 shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, 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 former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb spread through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid 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 the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity contests. Paul appeared genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That jokey nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever do it. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."