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

The YouTuber-turned-fighter's mouth gaped agape, his expression turning to huge glazed saucers as he collapsed to the mat in shock and awe following a pulverising right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was trying to say "Wow!" as the severity of the impact sank in to his scrambled senses.

Pinned 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 gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the shot 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 hit hard by a real boxer, an Olympic champion and former world heavyweight champion. "Goodness" is certainly the word.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been sent to the floor, but the consequences of a clean power shot ensured Paul could not get up and waggle his tongue defiantly before the referee waved the charade over. As blood began to leak from his lips, and a numbing throb radiated through his jaw, Paul at last understood how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a respectable level of competition.

A Far From Commanding Victory for Joshua

Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he performed a throat-slitting gesture that hinted at a precise and lethal finish when, in reality, Joshua had cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the fight. Instead of exuding intimidation or displaying an iron certainty, Joshua had seemed tentative and awkward for almost five rounds.

Paul's poor fitness, which is a basic essential in elite boxing, shaped the result. Without the gas to flee any more, and reduced to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was left helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the fighter he was in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Assessment

"That was not the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The objective was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the plan, and that's what was on my mind. It took a little more time than anticipated, but the right hand finally reached its destination."

Joshua praised Paul's bravery but he offered an excuse for his own stilted showing. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month hiatus," Joshua said, mentioning his previous defeat. "We dusted off the rust, and I can't wait to head into 2026."

The Future: Past Their Prime and Rising Stars

In the press conference afterwards, a cheerful Joshua tried out a woeful impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that matchup comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the hill.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world remain the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the division, after defeating both Joshua and Fury on two occasions. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have required fewer than half the amount of rounds that Joshua needed to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.

Paul's Unbowed Reaction

But the fans receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and brash to have had his mandible fractured by a sledgehammer right. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he shared an radiograph, with the two fractures marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to the Mexican superstar, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly faded presence, demonstrated that Paul's comic chutzpah remains unbroken. It may not be Canelo, but Paul will soon locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

While he was being interviewed, before leaving for the medical facility, Paul spat a streak of blood onto the ring floor. It was another bleak symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A proper ass-whipping from one of the best to ever step in the ring. I adore this shit and I'm going to return and continue winning."