🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more effectively than any observer else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot ensured Paul would not be able to rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Win for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"It wasn't the best display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. 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 found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor 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 tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have required fewer than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally diminished presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, 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 gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."