Nate Robinson showed he did not belong in the ring in his boxing debut.
In his first professional fight, the former Knick was destroyed by YouTube sensation Jake Paul in Saturday night’s undercard before the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Tyson-Jones Jr. fight was ruled an unofficial draw.
The 36-year-old Robinson was knocked completely out in the eight-round cruiserweight exhibition fight by an overhand right less than two minutes into the second round, but it wasn’t the first time the three-time NBA dunk contest champion hit the mat in the brief bout. Robinson eventually got up.
Robinson — who played with the Knicks for four seasons — also was knocked down in the first round when he came rushing at Paul (2-0), who hit him just above the ear. In the second round, Robinson rushed at Paul again, only to get hit in the forehead and knocked down. Surprisingly, the former 10-year NBA player got up again before Paul immediately finished him off for good.
According to ESPN, the 23-year-old Paul landed three of his eight punches, but all of those led to knockdowns.
One boxing legend who was analyzing the fight was not impressed with Robinson’s foray into a new sport.
“You don’t play boxing,” analyst Sugar Ray Leonard said.
Paul, who said after the fight he’s concentrating on his musical career for now, still is planning to box again — and he even called out UFC star Conor McGregor.
“Being one of the most hated people in the world, I have to fight through that,” Paul said after the fight. “It’s not easy. So for me, this is my perfect sport. I found my lane.”
After the bout, many on Twitter panned the fight:
