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Athletes across sports world mock Jake Paul-Nate Robinson 'boxing' match

jack baer
Staff writer
·3 min read
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 28: Jake Paul reacts over his knockout victory against Nate Robinson in the second round during Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr. presented by Triller at Staples Center on November 28, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Triller)
Nate Robinson looked like a basketball player playing the wrong sport against Jake Paul. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Triller)

It’s hard to imagine any observers expected a serious boxing match between YouTube star Jake Paul and former NBA slam dunk champion Nate Robinson.

And yet, what ensued Saturday night at Staples Center still inspired disbelief, concern and, above all, guffaws across social media. Robinson fought as if someone had just given him the gist of the strategy of boxing in the hours before. He repeatedly charged Paul to the point their bodies collided, and was rewarded with a steady diet of counterpunches for his effort.

Robinson was knocked down no fewer than three times, and the final one saw him land on the floor out cold.

The fight was drawing mockery on social media by the end of the first round, but the knockout punch was the true starter’s pistol for a Twitter frenzy. That even included Robinson’s fellow NBA players, like Stephen Curry:

Paul Pierce, watching at home, saw his excitement for Robinson turn into ... something else.

Nick Young — yes, Nick Young — was disavowing Robinson’s performance as representative of the NBA.

And then there was the rest of the sports world:

Just about the only people treating the thing as serious were actual boxers, trainers and promoters, who lamented what Paul and Robinson had reduced their sport to:

Nate Robinson responds on Instagram

Robinson seemed to take it well — or at least as well as he could have.

He took to Instagram after the bout to ensure everyone that he was in fact fine after suffering the knockout blow.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nate Robinson (@naterobinson)

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