Joshua & Paul Deliver a Sorry Display and the Most Troubling Part is There's More to Follow

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped wide open, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in stunned disbelief following a pulverising right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was trying to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact sank in to his rattled senses.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring midway through the sixth round, Paul could not run or cling to Joshua's legs in a desperate clinch as the serious reality of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that broke his jaw in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it is like, and looks, to be struck cleanly by a real professional fighter, an Olympic gold medallist and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" 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 punch ensured Paul could not get up and taunt his opponent before the referee waved the contest over. As blood began to trickle from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally understood how difficult, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a decent standard of competition.

An Unimpressive Impressive Victory for Joshua

Anthony Joshua, it should be stressed, was far from convincing amid the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that hinted at a precise and lethal execution when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Instead of glowering with menace or displaying an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative 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 falling to the canvas as often as he could for a rest, Paul was left defenseless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad imitation of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Post-Fight Comments

"It wasn't the finest display," 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 thoughts. It took a bit longer than anticipated, but the right hand eventually reached its target."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he added an excuse for his own labored showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his last defeat. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

What Comes Next: Faded Forces and Rising Stars

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua tried out a woeful imitation of Tyson Fury as he demanded a scrap against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will probably have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their careers. Both fighters are on the downward slope of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury twice. At the same time, Itauma is a rapidly ascending force. The youthful British heavyweight likely have required less than half the amount of rounds that Joshua required to send Paul into a appropriately astonished stupor.

The Defeated Fighter's Unbowed Reaction

But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality crossover contests. Paul appeared genuinely satisfied and brash to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted nod to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a much superior boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is unbroken. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate another opponent with whom he can earn north of $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more bleak symbol of the evening as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the greatest to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."