The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the blow sank in to his rattled senses.
"Those watching didn't pay to see this crap," said the referee, encapsulating the sorry affair much more effectively than any observer else managed to.
Trapped in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not run 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 separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly 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 taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, exhausting, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.
A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua
Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for most of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five rounds.
Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and reduced to slipping to the deck as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, until then, he had looked like a mournful imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.
Joshua's Aftermath 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 request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its destination."
Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own labored showing. "He faced a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."
What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars
In the post-fight interview afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.
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 weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.
The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction
But the fans gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed truly satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.
That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished presence, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.
During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another grim symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."