🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief after a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the blow sank in to his scrambled senses.

"Those watching didn't pay to see this rubbish," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair far more succinctly than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of the sweet science enveloped him. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two distinct locations, Paul was lost in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and appears, to be struck cleanly by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been sent to the floor, but the result of a clean power shot ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

A Far From Impressive Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a fundamental requirement in elite boxing, dictated the outcome. 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 fatigue. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than expected, but the right hand eventually found its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored performance. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, mentioning his last loss. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to head into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the press conference that followed, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of his domestic rival as he called for a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that matchup comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the weight class, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rising talent. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the amount of three-minute periods that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished state.

Paul's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that undoubtedly means more pitiful celebrity fights. Paul seemed genuinely satisfied and cocky to have had his mandible fractured by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures highlighted in red.

That jokey reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a equally faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mangled harsh reality with blood-flecked bullshit and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."