Barrie Eget had announced hundreds of fights across nearly two decades, but nothing prepared him for the events of Nov. 28, 2020.
“It was the most un-normal boxing match I’ve ever been involved in,” he remembers. “We were going to have a hundred or 200 people filling up a place that goes close to 20,000.”
The Staples Center sat empty under Covid restrictions, echoes bouncing off the vacant seats as middle-aged legends Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. prepared to meet in an exhibition streamed to more than 1.6 million pay-per-view spectators around the world.
Wiz Khalifa and YG performed between the matches while a raucous crew of commentators provided color. (“This shit like two of my uncles fighting at the barbecue!” Snoop Dogg cracked.) Yet by night’s end, a six-round undercard match between two novices—Jake Paul in his second pro fight and Nate Robinson—hijacked the event and produced one of the most viral moments in boxing history, and one of its strangest.
Jake Paul entered the ring, a 23-year-old former Disney kid turned YouTube star, seeking to reinvent himself. The B-side of the fight was Nate Robinson, an 11-year NBA veteran and three-time Slam Dunk Contest champion known for playing bigger than his 5-foot-9 stature. At 36, Kryptonate believed he still had enough in the tank to pursue boxing. After training a few months, he embarked on his first fight against the self-proclaimed “Problem Child.”
Robinson’s boxing sojourn ended in less than five minutes, after Paul knocked him cold with a three-punch combo midway through the second round. The image of Robinson face down on the canvas sent the meme machine into overdrive and spawned the #NateRobinsonChallenge. More than that, the fight proved people will pay to watch influencers and athletes beat each other up—a revelation that transformed the industry.
Paul, 28, is now boxing’s most bankable star outside of Canelo Alvarez, but he hasn’t shaken the asterisk from his 12-1 record. He’s had vast size or age advantages in most of his fights, including last year’s unanimous decision over 58-year-old Tyson. Paul’s Netflix-produced fight against two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Dec. 19 is his toughest challenge yet. But his empire was built on his knockout of Robinson.
Five years after what Paul has dubbed “the most viral knockout moment in the history of boxing,” Complex rounded up its participants. This is the Oral History of Jake Paul vs. Nate Robison.
THE PLAYERS
Nakisa Bidarian: Jake Paul’s manager/co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions
Barrie Eget: Ring announcer
Andreas Hale: Combat sports reporter, ESPN
Saint Jhn: Musical performer
Ron “The American Dream” Johnson: Nate Robinson trainer
Doctor Mike: YouTuber/physician/boxer
Jake Paul: Boxer
Tra Rags: Content creator
Lorenzo Reyes: Nate Robinson trainer
Jake Paul: I knew I was going to pursue fighting. I was still learning what I was capable of.
Nakisa Bidarian: I met Jake Paul in October 2019. He told me he wanted to start a fighters union, he wanted to be a rapper, an actor, continue to be a YouTuber, and box. I said, “Look, I'll help you with this one fight against [YouTuber] AnEsonGib.” The offer was $500,000; I helped him turn that into $4.2 million. Great outcome for him. On the back of that fight, we went our separate ways.
Andreas Hale: When I was working at DAZN, we [streamed] Jake Paul's first pro fight. I happened to be around Jake and his brother, Logan, seeing how seriously Jake was taking his training. For a guy who was on Bizaardvark, I was like, “Wow, like he really wants to do this.” After he beat up AnEsonGib, he told me he got bit by the boxing bug.
Nakisa Bidarian: Triller asked me to executive produce Mike Tyson's return against Roy Jones Jr. As I got my handle on that event, I identified that while Mike is a massive name, we were missing interest from Gen Z. I went to Jake and said, “I have an opportunity for you, but I only have $500,000.” He said, “What? You just got me 4.2 million.” I said, “I'll tell you who the main event is if you sign this document. If you win, I promise I will get you eight figures in your next fight.” He ultimately agreed to $500,000.
Andreas Hale: Jake didn't want to do this fight on the Mike Tyson card; he wanted to do it on his own card. Nakisa talked him into it. He was like, “You're never going to have more eyeballs on you than you will have on this night.”
Nakisa Bidarian: Once we signed the deal, Nate Robinson was calling out Jake.
Jake Paul: It was like, alright, let's see how good this pro guy is, who's super explosive and has one of the biggest verticals in NBA history. He's a beast, a legend, and he knows how to train. He's dedicated and disciplined. It was exciting for me.
Doctor Mike: There was a big size difference between the two fighters. I knew that would favor Jake. Jake's team did a phenomenal job—their fight selection for Jake was brilliant. Giving him a fight with YouTubers to get him comfortable in the ring and then a retired basketball player, who he has a size advantage over. These choices allowed Jake to develop himself as a fighter.
Andreas Hale: Nobody knew what Nate Robinson was capable of as a fighter. But everybody had an opinion, like, “There's no way this white boy is going to beat Nate Robinson.”
Jake Paul: There was so much unknown: Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. coming back, Nate Robinson boxing against this YouTuber. [People thought] the athlete's going to kill this guy.
Ron “The American Dream” Johnson: I met Nate at the Super Bowl in Miami in February 2020 and stayed in contact. He wanted me to give him some pointers and train him. Nate had some moves. The little things I was showing him, he was catching on pretty fast. I liked what I saw. He was very powerful, explosive, and strong. He had a nice pop to his punch. I was giving him advice.
Nakisa Bidarian: We were very clear: It had to be a professional fight. Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones was an exhibition. So my entire strategy was that everything else on the card had to be professional, so fans didn't feel they were getting a night of exhibitions.
Jake Paul: It was a challenge for me to test my skills. I had to push myself to new levels in that training camp. That's where I fell in love with boxing and wanted to do it full-time.
Ron Johnson: I was really close with the Paul brothers. For one of my last fights, we all trained together with Milton LaCroix in Logan's backyard. So I already knew the talent level and the determination, because these guys work harder than almost any other boxers I know. For the Nate Robinson fight, Jake started training with BJ Flores and J'Leon Love. We all came up together through boxing, so there was fun chatter back and forth. These guys know boxing, and Jake’s a sponge. But Nate was super confident. He really felt he was going to knock Jake Paul out.
Jake Paul: Every fight is a risk. Someone can always land that one punch—that's the nature of the sport. So there's always fear going into there. But you just have to embrace it and use it to motivate you.
Nakisa Bidarian: There was definitely some fear. I wasn't connected with Jake the same way as I am now. Now he's family, but at that point, there was a belief that Jake was biting off more than he could chew.
Andreas Hale: I thought people were underestimating Jake.
Ron Johnson: I was in negotiations to sign Logan to a boxing contract, which I actually completed. So now I'm training the guy who's fighting his brother, which was pretty wild. Nate and I worked out for a few days. Then he went and trained in Seattle. I stayed back because it was gonna be too weird.
Lorenzo Reyes: A friend of mine brought Nate to my gym to train. We did that for four months. Nate is very competitive, but basketball and boxing are completely different worlds. I think the manager made a mistake when he took the fight. Jake is a big guy and had more experience. That is the difference. But that was not my decision. My job was only training him and making sure he was ready for the fight.
Ron Johnson: The main thing I preached to him was to stay calm. Don't rush. Take your time. You don't want to go out there [with] nervous energy, just throwing a whole bunch of punches, and never catch your breath.
Lorenzo Reyes: I told him please don’t trade [punches] with this guy. Your job is touch-and-move, touch-and-move. I taught him a lot of little tricks: pushing, holding, putting your weight on top of the other guy, things like that. He tried to do it in sparring, but sometimes you need a real fight.
FIGHT NIGHT
Jake Paul built anticipation for the showdown by repeating that he would “dribble” his opponent’s head on the canvas. But despite sportsbooks giving Paul a -225 advantage, Nate Robinson remained confident.
Barrie Eget: I was doing pre-fight weigh-ins and Jake was consistently messing with Nate, doing everything he could to get inside his head and hype up the fight. Nate was all business. But Jake is very smart—he can rattle you and get under your skin.
Nakisa Bidarian: There wasn't a lot of competing live content. We were able to secure live performances from large artists at levels of investment that made sense.
Jake Paul: It was one of the first sporting events back from Covid, so people were yearning for entertainment. We just happened to be in the perfect moment and everyone was tuned in.
SAINt JHN: This gigantic moment is televised around the world, but there's only a handful of people allowed in the room. It felt like a secret society.
Andreas Hale: You could see and hear everything because of the high-level production in this pitch-black arena.
Nakisa Bidarian: I didn't think the main event was going to give us a fascinating finish. I said to Jake, “You have the opportunity to own the conversation here.”
Ron Johnson: I was neutral. May the best man win, as long as they’re both safe.
Lorenzo Reyes: I believe Nate was 10% ready for the fight. He needed more experience—maybe an amateur fight. But when I wrapped Nate’s hands, he told me, “Coach, I'm ready to kick this guy’s ass. I know I can win.”
Barrie Eget: Jake came into the ring to [Kurtis Blow’s] “Basketball” and acted like he was dribbling. I'm going, “Oh my goodness, this guy's crazy, but I love him.” It was like WWE.
Lorenzo Reyes: In the beginning, I started thinking, I don't think he can knock him out, because Jake looks heavy. When the fight started, I told Nate, “Don't forget what we need to do. Please don't trade punches with this guy.”
Andreas Hale: About 15 seconds into the fight, I knew Nate was cooked. There are certain things a trained eye can see: when somebody's disciplined, the position of their feet, if they know how to throw a jab. Jake was setting him up with his right hand the entire fight. Nate was charging, throwing punches, fighting like he was in the street. Jake was poised. I was like, “Oh, this ain't going to end well. This dude's about to go to sleep.”
Ron Johnson: Nate did exactly what I did not want him to do: run into punches. In boxing, you have to have smart aggressiveness. You just run at a professional fighter and boom: You're face down.
With 51 seconds remaining in the first round, Paul countered Robinson’s charge with a right hook that dropped him.
Jake Paul: I didn't know what to expect. It's good to not have a ton of expectations when you're going into the ring, but it was shocking after I hurt him the first time and he went down that he still kept coming with that same aggression versus trying to slow it down. But I guess that was their game plan, to try and rush me. But I know how to stay calm and just work behind the jab.
Ron Johnson: He had the heart to get up and try to fight through it. When you get rocked or dazed, you gotta know how to recover. You’re freaking out, trying to figure out what’s wrong with your body. But you gotta know how to buy yourself time. You learn that from experience.
SAINt JHN: Nate looked crazy out there. [Laughs] It was a wild mismatch.
Lorenzo Reyes: [Going into] the second round, I told him, “You need to be a little faster. Don't trade punches.” He didn't listen to me. He went directly to this guy and tried to punch him in the face.
Ron Johnson: You don't swing at somebody when you're hurt, because now you don't know what's going on, and they do.
The fight ended with 1:25 left in the second round, following another right hook from Paul that made his taunts prophetic. He’d talked his shit and backed it up the best way a boxer can—all while Snoop Dogg sang "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" on commentary.
Barrie Eget: Every knockout is different; they come in all different forms. This one looked like it was out of a Rocky movie, like a barn door falling over. Nate was gone.
Lorenzo Reyes: I was a little scared because the KO was super powerful. A few minutes later, Nate was okay, just a little sad that he lost. Nobody wants to lose that way, but he tried the best he could.
Andreas Hale: The commentating was a complete and utter mess. But Snoop was kind of professional. For whatever reason, his voice was cutting through.
Tra Rags: It just sounded like you were just watching a fight with your homies. Snoop was hilarious.
Nakisa Bidarian: There were articles about how dangerous it was for Triller to put a YouTuber in there against a professional athlete. On the back of the event, there were articles saying it was dangerous to put Nate Robinson against Jake Paul, a boxer. [Laughs]
Jake Paul: I did what people didn't expect. They expected the pro athlete to destroy me, and it went completely the opposite way.
Nakisa Bidarian: He became an overnight sensation with a very viral, spectacular knockout. I fully anticipated it.
Barrie Eget: I felt bad for Nate. I was sincerely hoping he was okay. The way he landed was tough to watch.
Lorenzo Reyes: We tried to support the best we could that day and the next day when we went back to Seattle. We tried to explain to him that it's part of the business and I'm here for support. Before the fight, [he said,] “Whatever happens, I want to continue to do this. I want to take a little break and go back to the gym.” But he never came back. He paid me, and I never saw Nate again. I don't know if he trained with somebody else. I hope he's good.
THE AFTERMATH
Robinson revealed in 2022 that he’d been struggling with kidney failure for years. After a long, public search for a donor, he had a successful transplant surgery in February 2025. His team did not respond to interview requests for this story.
Tra Rags: As soon as the fight was over, there was the Nate Robinson Challenge—people laying on the floor acting like they were knocked out. I already knew it was going to be big from that point.
Barrie Eget: It was all over social media because you don’t see that kind of knockout [often]. The memes and stuff weren't really fair to Nate.
SAINt JHN: You ain't iconic until you become a meme.
Andreas Hale: Knockouts are one of the most viral things in all of sports. When Manny Pacquiao got knocked out, the memes were everywhere. But we were all tuned into this moment, at home, on social media. Everybody saw it. People were quick with the memes.
Tra Rags: I always try to be different with my skits. A lot of times people will see something happen and just reenact it. I like to go deeper, because there's always an underlying joke. I'm seeing people acting like Nate Robinson getting knocked out. I'm like, “Man, y'all work at Walmart. Y'all just normal, everyday workers.” So I came up with the idea: What if Nate Robinson went to McDonald's and a normal McDonald's worker tried to fight him because they’re not scared of him anymore? I didn't think it was gonna blow up because it was such a niche video. Who would even think of something like that?
Jake Paul: People were extremely bored because of Covid. Everybody was going to the internet for entertainment.
Lorenzo Reyes: It's a really bad experience, because [there were] a lot of jokes about how he lost and this is the coach for Nate. Very bad jokes. But that's part of the game, you know? It's nothing personal.
Ron Johnson: I got more of the backlash for him being knocked out because his training footage with me was shown on ESPN’s Instagram. It's like, Yo, I had three or four days with him. They like, “You’re the reason he got knocked out.” Then they started having memes: “This is Nate Robinson's trainer right here.” And it was the trainer from [Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!]. It was wild.
Tra Rags: That [Nate Robinson meme] set my whole career on this path. Hopefully Nate liked it, because I don't know if he's going to see me and try to fight me after all those years. [Laughs] I know Jake Paul saw it. He commented on my TikTok with a shocked emoji or something.
Jake Paul: The internet is such a wild place and you never know what's going to happen and all the trends that will come out of it. It was funny until people started making Nate Robinson floor mats. Then I was like, “Alright, this is a bit too much.” It went on for weeks.
Barrie Eget: I had so much respect for Nate. He showed a lot of guts to even take on this fight. Just a really good guy.
Nakisa Bidarian: Nate Robinson was a gentleman back then and a gentleman after.
Ron Johnson: I wish I had a longer time to work with him. I'm not saying we would've beat Jake Paul, but I think it would've been a competitive fight. If he had more time and was around the sport, Nate would do damage in boxing. I told Nate to keep his head up and if he ever wants to try again and box, I'll always be here.
Lorenzo Reyes: I believe he could’ve gotten much better, because he's athletic and he always follows instructions. If you tell him something is wrong, he can [fix] it. He tries to do the best he can. He's [too] old now. But before, he was focused.
Ron Johnson: I've seen Jake quite a bit since then. When Logan fought Floyd [Mayweather], we were all in the locker room together. He’s always making fun, messing with me, like, “Ron, you got anybody else I can knock out?”
THE LEGACY OF INFLUENCER BOXING
The undercard overshadowed the main event, with fans wondering how Paul would fare against tougher competition. Paul has since become one of boxing’s biggest earners following wins over Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, and Mike Tyson. He launched Most Valuable Promotions in 2021; Misfits, Happy Punch, and streamer Adin Ross’ Brand Risk Promotions have all cashed in on the influencer boxing boom.
Jake Paul: Before Nate Robinson, people were calling me a YouTuber who was doing the sport. After that moment, people were like, “Well, he could actually fight—but still not that good.” I still had a lot to prove after that. But it changed my life forever.
Andreas Hale: It helped launch Jake into this stratosphere where he's the money man in boxing, which is crazy for a guy with no amateur experience. It was all pinned on this moment.
Nakisa Bidarian: Jake vs. Nate allowed Jake opportunities that made him vested in boxing. Being on a Mike Tyson card is an important part of it, because I don't [otherwise] think the global viewership would have been as massive. That led to the Ben Askren fight—Jake made $11.5 million—which led to the formation of Most Valuable Promotions. We realized boxing is his calling and we had something special, focused on disruption and this kid putting on these massive mainstream conversational events.
Ron Johnson: It showed that you could use stardom from elsewhere to make money in the boxing industry. We could bring people from all walks of life: former NBA, soccer players, wrestlers, anybody.
Doctor Mike: It actually created the motivation for me to enter the boxing ring and have two fights. I’m currently seeking another one.
Jake Paul: It was the start of everything we still see today: crossover boxing, crossover MMA, bare knuckle. People saw if you delivered a differentiated product that was entertaining, it actually delivered numbers.
Andreas Hale: Floyd Mayweather fighting Conor [McGregor] broke the dam. But this night cracked the whole thing open because it showed there was a market for old heads with Mike Tyson and Roy Jones, and a market for the new generation. We didn’t have so many eyes on a fight since Floyd, just based on the ridiculousness. If this night didn't happen, Netflix wouldn't be doing boxing. Boxing would still be wherever it was at that time.
Jake Paul: Everyone and their mom became an influencer boxing promoter once they saw how much money we made.
Ron Johnson: If people follow [Jake Paul’s] lead and put in the work like he does, I don't mind them coming and trying to have a career in boxing. Just don't make it a mockery of it. Don't just train for three weeks. I hope guys with that attitude get knocked out every time.
Andreas Hale: Hardcore boxing heads will tell you that [Jake vs. Nate] was an awful night for the sport. A lot of us who love boxing tend to hold it too close. This is a good thing for the sport. You can hate on it if you want—or just change the channel.