The YouTuber-turned-fighter's jaw dropped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the mat in stunned disbelief following a devastating right hand from Anthony Joshua. It looked as if Paul was attempting to utter "Whoa!" as the severity of the blow registered to his scrambled senses.
"The fans didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the dismal spectacle much more succinctly than anyone else could.
Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could no longer retreat or cling to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he tried to absorb the punch that fractured his mandible in two separate places, Paul was caught in an completely dazed moment.
So that is what it feels, and appears, to be hit hard by a genuine boxer, an Olympic champion and former 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 clean punch ensured Paul would not be able to get up and taunt his opponent before the official called the charade over. As blood began to trickle from his mouth, and a dull ache radiated through his jaw, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and perilous boxing is at a decent standard of professionalism.
Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive amid the bedlam. After his hollow victory, he performed a cut-throat motion that suggested a precise and lethal 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 appeared hesitant and awkward for nearly 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 slipping to the deck as often as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by fatigue. Joshua applied the brutal ending, but, up to that point, he had seemed a mournful shadow of the boxer he was in 2017.
"It wasn't the finest display," Joshua admitted. "The end goal was to catch Jake Paul, corner him and hurt him. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the straight right eventually found its destination."
Joshua commended Paul's courage but he added an explanation for his own stilted showing. "He faced a genuine competitor tonight that's had a fifteen-month hiatus," Joshua said, referencing his previous defeat. "We shook off the rust, and I am eager to roll into 2026."
In the press conference that followed, a jovial Joshua attempted a woeful imitation of his domestic rival as he demanded a scrap against the presently inactive boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes much too late in their professional journeys. Both men are on the far side of the peak.
In contrast, the most compelling big men in the world are the Ukrainian master and the British prospect. Usyk is still the undoubted ruler of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising talent. The youthful British heavyweight would probably have needed less than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a suitably astonished stupor.
But the public receives what the public desires, and that certainly means more low-quality celebrity fights. Paul appeared truly satisfied and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a sledgehammer right. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, he shared an X-ray, with the pair of breaks highlighted in red.
That jokey reference to SaĆŗl "Canelo" Ćlvarez, a much superior fighter than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah remains undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make north of $50 million.
During his in-ring interview, before departing to the medical facility, Paul spat a tracer of blood onto the ring floor. It was one more grim symbol of the night as Paul mixed harsh reality with gory bullshit and stated: "I believe my jaw is broken. It's certainly broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this sport and I'm going to come back and keep on winning."
Elena Hartwell is a multidisciplinary artist and educator passionate about fostering creative communities in London.