Former NBA player Nate Robinson lost his boxing match to Youtube personality Jake Paul Saturday night, Nov. 28, following a formidable right-hand knockout — and instantly became the internet’s newest meme.
But while a large portion of social media, the basketball community included, was brushing up on their comedic skills, former professional boxer Floyd Mayweather took the time to offer some uplifting words to a defeated Robinson.
On Sunday, Nov. 29, the Welterweight champion shared of photo of himself posing for a snap with Robinson to his Instagram page. In a lengthy caption, the 43 year old expressed that despite the outcome of the fight, he was “proud” of the former New York Knicks player and he would “always stand behind all my brothers.”
“I will never kick my brother when he’s down,” Mayweather wrote before calling out his fellow peers for their behavior following the match that night. “It’s ok for people to voice their opinions on social media, but no black athletes or black entertainers, especially black NBA players should make a mockery out of you. We are supposed to all stand with each other through the good, bad and ugly,” he wrote. “I’m here to uplift you and let you know we all love you and congratulate you for just making an effort.” Mayweather also noted that he offered to train the 36-year-old Robinson but didn’t specify whether it was before or after his matchup with Paul.
Robinson’s chances of winning the fight against Paul, 23, cast doubt, as Paul had been training for the majority of the year. The “Bizaardvark” and former “Vine” star had even mentioned making a career out of the sport, and his performance that night backed up his ambitions. Still, the internet did what it does best and showed Robinson zero remorse during his humiliating moment.
Golden State Warriors star and former teammate Steph Curry tweeted Saturday night, “Be ok Nate……come on man.” To which former teammate Andre Iguodala responded, “Cmon Craig!!!” referencing a line from the iconic Ice Cube film, “Next Friday.”
Curry wasn’t done getting off his jokes just yet. When Robinson tweeted, “Gonna shock the world bro,” Curry replied, “I see no lies,” sending yet another blow to his former teammate.
Other celebrities took jabs at Robinson as well, including Nick Young who tweeted, “That was no representation of the NBA Family lol” following the two round knockout.
However, despite being the butt of jokes and even having a social media challenge created in honor of his embarrassing moment, Robinson made light of the experience.
Sunday night, the former basketball player shared a clip from the film “Friday” in which John Witherspoon, who played Ice Cube’s father, talks to him about solving his issues with his fist rather than a gun. “Put that gun down son, get knocked out like your father used to,” Robinson captioned the clip. “Great souls are grown through storms of struggles and seasons of suffering. #holdat.”
Supporters commended him on his efforts, including one user who wrote, “you win some you loose some. At least you got the balls to step in the ring.” They added, “A lot of ppl wouldn’t sign that contract. We need more ppl like you @naterobinson put the guns down put the gloves up 🙏🙏.”
