🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle far more succinctly than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the result of a proper power shot meant Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for almost five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Lacking the stamina to escape any longer, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a poor impression of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap 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 far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the unquestioned ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a equally faded presence, showed that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the greatest to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."