🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an utterly stunned moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Impressive Win for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared tentative and awkward for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Lacking the stamina to flee any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. 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 leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."