🔗 Share this article

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he sank to the mat in shock and awe after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It looked as if Paul was attempting to say "Whoa!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than any observer else managed to.

Trapped in a neutral 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 gravity of the sweet science became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an utterly dazed moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the former YouTuber had been knocked down, but the consequences of a proper punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the official waved the contest to a halt. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent level of professionalism.

An Unimpressive Commanding Win for Joshua

Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing during the chaos. After his hollow victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and deadly finish when, in truth, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for nearly five stanzas.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a basic essential in top-level boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to falling to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the vicious finish, but, until then, he had seemed a sad imitation of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"That was not the finest performance," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to get Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the straight right finally reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's courage but he added an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview that followed, a cheerful Joshua attempted a poor imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the downward slope of the peak.

In stark contrast, the most interesting big men in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and the British prospect. Usyk is still the unquestioned king of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rapidly ascending talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required less than half the number of rounds that Joshua needed to send Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Response

But the public gets what the public desires, and that certainly means additional low-quality crossover fights. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of the next day, he posted an X-ray, with the two fractures marked in red.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, 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 soon find someone else with whom he can earn more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mangled blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and said: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little ass-whipping from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."