🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this garbage," said the referee, summing up the dismal affair much more succinctly than anyone else managed to.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer run or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the serious reality of boxing enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So this is how it feels, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last grasped how difficult, exhausting, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Victory for the Victor

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the fight. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Lacking the stamina to escape any more, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as frequently as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua applied the vicious ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua commended Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last loss. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and New Talent

In the press conference afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out 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 far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the hill.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably wowed stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that undoubtedly means additional pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed truly satisfied and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks highlighted in crimson.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a equally faded force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon find another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before departing to the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another grim summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I adore this sport and I'm going to come back and continue winning."