Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to cause to collapse, to beat up; also as n. (see cit. 1820).

1818		Morn. Chron. (London) 16 Aug. 3/5: Johnson is much the worse for wear, after beating and ‘doubling up’ so good a man as Purcell in great style.
1819		‘One of the Fancy’ Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress 20: Tipp’d him a punch [...] Which knock’d all the rich Curacao into cruds, / And doubled him up, like a bag of old duds!
1820		‘Peter Corcoran’ Fancy 89: [note] He doubles up an opponent [...] as easily as though he were picking a flower or pinching a girl’s cheek.
1820		Jack Randall’s Diary 41: Drink joy to his double-ups, strength to his shot.
1832		S. Warren Diary of a Late Physician in Works (1854) III 86: Accompanied by a tremendous doubling-up body-blow, as in an instant brought him senseless to the ground.
1849		Thackeray Dr. Birch 6: I reflect as I go up and set him a sum, that the [Champion] could whop me in two minutes, double up Prince and the other assistant and pitch the Doctor out of the window.
1866		Night Side of N.Y. 81: Lazaraus [...] ‘doubled up’ their leader, whose face was a picture when he made his appearance in court, next morning.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 22 Aug. 20/1: The Rev. Laing considered The Bulletin ‘totally devoid of wit and humour.’ [...] The reason is probably that it criticises the actions of the heads of so-called religious sects [...] with a captivating frankness that doubles up the ‘Holy Wullies’ of society with horror.

2. to defeat, to stop someone in their tracks.

1845

Punch IX 163: Ben’s reference to the Premier’s friend, Canning, completely doubled him up [F&H].