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The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he sank to the canvas in shock and awe after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't spend money to see this garbage," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than any observer else could.

Trapped in a corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, 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 would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how hard, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a respectable standard of competition.

A Far From Commanding Win for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that suggested a precise and lethal execution when, in reality, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. Without the gas to flee any longer, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful shadow of the boxer he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the best performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk is still the unquestioned ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public gets what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures highlighted in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

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