Bad news for Jake Paul ... one of the best young boxers in the game is giving his biggest secrets to NBA star Nate Robinson -- undefeated two-time WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez!!
Of course, Robinson is prepping to take on the YouTube superstar-turned-fighter in an undercard match for the Mike Tyson and Roy Jones, Jr. fight on September 12.
Some experts believe Paul may come away with the easy dub because he's 2-0 and has more experience ... but Benavidez makes it clear Robinson has been putting in that work.
"I was in there giving him some pointers," the 23-year-old tells us. "I was trying to teach him a little bit about the boxing game. So, I definitely gave him a few gems, so I feel like he's gonna be more than ready for his upcoming fight."
FYI -- Jake and Nate have been going AT IT ever since the fight was announced ... and recently got into a heated trash-talkin' sesh in an interview with TMZ Sports.
Benavidez -- who has a big fight against Alexis Angulo August 15 on Showtime -- says he knows Robinson picked up the sport a few years ago, so any talk of him being too fresh to boxing is simply not true.
"He's been training for a couple years now, so I feel like he just needs to sharpen a little bit of his tools ... but definitely, I feel like he can win this fight."