Jake Paul erred on the side of sportsmanship following his most impressive athletic triumph to date.
Paul, known by most for his YouTube presence, picked up a convincing boxing win over Nate Robinson on Saturday. The 23-year-old claimed the bout with a heavy knockout punch in the second round of a scheduled six-round tilt.
In an interview with TMZ, Paul revealed he reached out to Robinson after the fight. Paul apparently delivered a supportive message to the former NBA guard.
“I sent him a brief DM (direct message) just saying, ‘Keep your head up’ basically,” Paul said. “‘Let’s connect soon. Whenever you’re ready.’ But yeah, I was praying for him after because I was worried. He wasn’t getting up. At the end of the day, it’s a sport. So after the victory, you have to respect your opponent. Like I said, Nate Robinson’s a legend. No one should be coming and hating on him. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of people have never gotten into the boxing ring, so let’s not take that away from Nate.”
While more boxing probably isn’t in Robinson’s future, the same can’t be said for Paul. Paul is confident he’ll eventually share the squared circle with UFC legend Conor McGregor.
