🔗 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 stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee called the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of professionalism.

A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the outcome. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

The Winner's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down 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 right hand finally found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Reaction

But the fans receives what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

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

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with gory bullshit and said: "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 adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."