🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the gravity of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch 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 struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a clean punch ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of competition.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any longer, and resorting to falling to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered defenseless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Comments

"That was not the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal 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 eventually reached its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own labored performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, 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 called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

Paul's Defiant Response

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed truly proud and brash to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's brazen audacity 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 departing to the hospital, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth 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 adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."