The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to wide, stunned circles as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.
"The fans didn't pay to see this rubbish," said the referee, encapsulating the dismal affair far more succinctly than anyone 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 like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an utterly stunned moment.
So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and former 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 proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to rise and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the charade to a halt. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.
A Far From Commanding Victory for the Victor
Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was far from convincing during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and deadly execution when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for most of the contest. Rather than glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had appeared hesitant and crude for nearly five stanzas.
Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to flee any longer, and resorting to slipping to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the vicious finish, but, until then, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.
Joshua's Post-Fight Comments
"It wasn't the best performance," Joshua conceded. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually reached its destination."
Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I can't wait to roll into 2026."
The Future: Faded Forces and Rising Stars
In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the hill.
In stark contrast, the most compelling heavyweights 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. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of three-minute periods that Joshua needed to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.
Paul's Defiant Response
But the public receives what the public wants, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared truly satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he shared an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in crimson.
That jokey nod to the Mexican superstar, a far greater fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, demonstrated that Paul's brazen audacity is undented. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.
While he was being interviewed, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this sport and I'm going to return and continue winning."
