🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped agape, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the force of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The audience didn't pay to see this garbage," snapped the referee, encapsulating the sorry spectacle much more effectively than any observer else could.

Pinned in a corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat 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 shot that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was lost in an completely dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and appears, to be hit hard by a real professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper power shot meant Paul could not rise and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official called the contest over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a dull ache spread through his jawbone, Paul at last understood how difficult, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the bedlam. After his empty victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that hinted at a clinical and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped 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 helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.

The Winner's Post-Fight Assessment

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "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 anticipated, but the straight right eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an explanation for his own labored showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his last defeat. "We shook off the rust, 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 impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will probably get his wish, but that bout comes far too late in their careers. Both men are on the far side of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most compelling big men in the world remain Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The young British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. 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 posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may 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 departing to the hospital, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the evening as Paul mangled harsh reality with gory bravado and said: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and keep on winning."