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Daily Mirror
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Andrew Tate responds to bold Roy Jones Jr boxing fight call-out
Despite having limited experience in the boxing ring, Tate is interested in going head-to-head with former multi-weight world champion Jones Jr Andrew Tate would jump at the the opportunity to fight Roy Jones Jr after the boxing icon revealed he would come out of retirement to face the controversial influencer. Tate, 38, had a successful kickboxing career during which he was a four-time world champion. Having enjoyed a glittering career in ISKA and Enfusion, the controversial influencer was forced to retire due to eye injuries that cost him his last few outings. In 2016, he was forced to quit against Ibrahim El Boustati. Since then, the 38-year-old has picked up wins against lower level opponents. Despite a brief stint in MMA and a respectable career in kickboxing, Tate is open to putting on the boxing gloves and trading leather with Jones Jr. During the peak of his powers, Jones Jr held four world titles in different weight categories: middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. After seemingly calling it a day in 2018, Jones Jr returned to the ring two years later and took on Mike Tyson - with the pair going on to fight to an uninspiring draw in an exhibition bout. The 56-year-old make his professional comeback in 2023, but lost to former UFC champion Anthony Pettis. With Tate still training regularly, the American is open to a showdown with the 56-year-old. A spokesperson for the influencer said: "We would welcome the opportunity to initiate discussions regarding a high-profile fight between Roy Jones Jr and Andrew Tate, we are confident it would attract and captivate audiences worldwide." His comments came not long after Jones Jr declared he would be keen to make the blockbuster fight happen. Speaking to Slingo, he said: 'There are a lot of guys who fans would love to see me fight. Andrew Tate, he's very controversial, he knows his boxing stuff a little, he's been watching me a long time, he says some very good things and sometimes not. But I like his guts, that he is not afraid to express himself. That makes a boxer, someone not afraid to express themselves. I'd like to fight him, he has one of the bigger platforms and would make the biggest splash.' Tate learned this week that his trial of civil claims is due to be held months earlier than originally planned after a High Court judge said she was 'very keen to get on' with the case. Four women are suing Tate over allegations of sexual violence, including that he grabbed one by the throat on several occasions in 2015, assaulted her with a belt and pointed a gun at her face. Tate's barristers told an earlier court hearing that there was 'total denial of wrongdoing'. Boxing icon Jones also recently revealed he would be interested in a showdown with boxing star Tommy Fury. 'He's [Tommy Fury] calling out Mike Tyson, Jake [Paul] just had a pretty easy night with him, so people might think he would have an easy night with Tyson," he said. 'But, if you wanted to make a big splash, you could have come and seen Roy. That would have been a good fight. But if he wants Mike, he wants Mike. 'It would attract global attraction. If I came back it would be like when George Foreman and Muhammad Ali came back, because of who they were in their primes. Because of who I was in my prime it would attract global attention. People understand and hear that name, they get excited because they know of the name and what it brought to them, even if they saw a small glimpse of that and didn't get injured, they would be happy.'
The Independent
05-03-2025
- The Independent
Andrew Tate timeline: From kickboxing and webcams to criminal probe in Florida
Andrew Tate, the former kickboxing world champion turned social media influencer, is facing a criminal investigation in Florida. The state's Attorney General James Uthmeier has said his office is working with law enforcement to conduct an inquiry into Tate and his brother Tristan, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania. The brothers left Europe and landed in Fort Lauderdale in late February. They were first arrested three years ago on allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. They have denied all claims. The White House reportedly pressured the Romanian government to lift a travel ban on the brothers, who are both dual US-UK citizens. Andrew, 38, and Tristan, 36, deny all wrongdoing across a string of civil and criminal cases relating to sex abuse and trafficking in the UK, US and Romania. The case in Romania – in which two Romanian women were also charged – relates to rape and human trafficking offences, which includes organising an alleged criminal group to sexually exploit women. The case was sent back to prosecutors in December due to procedural issues and there is no date currently set for a trial. Tate was released from house arrest in January, after he was subjected to it when a second criminal case was brought against the pair in Romania last August. But he has also seen his social media accounts banned over inflammatory statements he has made, often appearing to advocate violence against women, which the platforms ruled violated their policies. He is frequently accused of embodying toxic masculinity and misogyny, having claimed that women cannot drive, that they belong in the home and are a man's property. He told the Anything Goes with James English podcast in June 2021 that he was 'absolutely sexist' and 'absolutely a misogynist', but claimed on Piers Morgan Uncensored more recently that he was 'absolutely not'. Teachers are increasingly concerned about the spread of his messages of male empowerment and his potentially radicalising influence on impressionable teenage boys. Here is what you need to know about the life and times of Andrew Tate. 1986 Emory Andrew Tate III is born in Washington, DC, on 1 December to Emory Tate Jr, a sergeant of the US Air Force and a chess International Master, and his English wife Eileen, a catering assistant. Initially raising their children in Chicago, Illinois, the couple divorced in 1997, at which point Eileen Tate relocated to a council estate in Luton, Bedfordshire, with her young family, where she reportedly still lives. Tate has described his mother as 'my hero' but says they were 'broke as a joke' during his childhood. 2005 The young Andrew Tate starts boxing and martial arts training while reportedly also working as a TV producer. 2009 Tate wins the British ISKA Full Contact Cruiserweight Championship in Derby, going by the name King Cobra. 2011 Wins his first ISKA world title by beating Jean-Luc Benoit via knockout. As his celebrity begins to grow, Tate joins Twitter, initially as @Cobratate. 2012 Tate and his brother Tristan begin their first adult webcam business, which employs lingerie-clad models to engage in chat sessions with men. In a later interview with The Mirror in March 2022, the brothers joke that their webcam ventures, which charge customers $4 (£3.30) an hour, are 'a total scam' because the models featured often tell lonely male callers 'fake sob stories' to elicit sympathy and earn larger tips. Tristan Tate tells the newspaper that the brothers are protected by two lines in their terms and conditions: 'One is broadcasting is 'for entertainment purposes only'. That means if a model says she has a sick dog or a sick grandma it doesn't have to be true. 'The next is that all cash given to models is 'a voluntary sign of gratitude for their time broadcasting'.' 2013 Wins his second ISKA world title in a 12-round match against Vincent Petitjean. 2016 Tate is invited onto the 17th season of the reality TV show Big Brother, but quickly attracts scrutiny over his track record of controversial statements. He is removed from the house after just six days when a video surfaces showing him hitting a woman with a belt. In a statement, both he and the woman featured in the clip say they are friends and that the actions depicted were consensual. 2017 Andrew Tate moves to Bucharest, Romania, with Tristan, setting up home in a heavily-fortified suburban compound and claiming the UK has 'gone downhill'. He says the prospect of avoiding rape charges more easily is 'probably 40 per cent of the reason' for moving to Central Europe, adding: 'I'm not a f***ing rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free. 'If you're a man living in England or Germany or America or any of the Western world right now you've decided to live in a country where any woman … at any point in the future can destroy your life.' He later tells The Times this was intended as an attack on litigation culture, commenting: 'A dying empire adopts laws like a sick man adopts medicine.' Having already stirred controversy on Twitter by claiming depression 'isn't real', Tate is permanently suspended from the platform after saying on 18 October that women should 'bear some responsibility' for being sexually assaulted, part of a thread commenting on the Harvey Weinstein affair. 'I don't agree with being banned, people get banned from Twitter all the time and make new profiles,' he said subsequently. 'I'm not inciting violence, promoting terrorism or harassing anyone. This is censorship of free speech. I've never had specific tweets banned or been cautioned.' The controversy boosts his profile among far-right conservatives, bringing him into the company of Alex Jones, Paul Joseph Watson and Donald Trump Jr in America and Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson in the UK. August 2022 Having continued to build his following on social media and in right-wing media, a campaign to de-platform Tate resulted in his being banned from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. In a 'final' video, Tate claims that many of the criticisms levied at him are based on clips that have been misrepresented. 'I have some responsibility to bear. I still blame myself, because my rise has been so meteoric and I became so famous so quickly,' he said. 'If there was as many people cutting up videos like they did mine and those people had a negative agenda, they could make Mickey Mouse look evil, you could make anyone look bad.' His message is dismissed by Hope Not Hate's research director, Joe Mulhall, who tells The Independent the clip attempts 'to completely rewrite his behaviour, justify the unjustifiable, and … takes no responsibility'. That same month, financial services company Stripe pulls out of processing subscriptions for Hustler's University, another Tate business billed as an online 'academy' where members pay a monthly membership fee in exchange for advice on how to make a passive income from online industries such as cryptocurrency. The venture reportedly has around 100,000 paying subscribers who are charged around $49 (£40) per month but Stripe's decision prompts it to shut its affiliate marketing programme, which had encouraged the spread of Tate videos across social networks. October 2022 After a video of Tate praying at a mosque in Dubai with MMA fighter Tam Khan goes viral, he announces in a post on Gettr that he has converted to Islam. November 2022 Tate is reinstated on Twitter by new owner Elon Musk, along with other previously banned right-wing figures including Donald Trump, Kanye West and Jordan Peterson. 28 December 2022 Tate posts his now-infamous tweet to Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, boasting about his Bugatti and Ferraris and asking for her email address so he can 'send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions'. 'Yes, please do enlighten me,' she responds. 'Email me at smalldickenergy@ The internet duly erupts, prompting Tate to respond initially rather weakly by asking 'How dare you?!'. He then returned with a video of himself sporting a dressing gown and smoking a cigar claiming to believe the joke has backfired on Thunberg and accusing the 'global matrix' of deploying a 'bot farm' to send her tweet viral. 29 December 2022 Tate and his brother are detained in Romania for 30 days, along with two women, on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group. Prosecutors say they have found six women who claim to have been sexually exploited by the suspects for the purpose of creating internet pornography. 30 December 2022 As excitable social media rumours suggest that a Jerry's Pizza box featured in Tate's video inadvertently revealed his location to the authorities, Thunberg tweets about him again, declaring: 'This is what happens when you don't recycle your pizza boxes.' 3 January 2023 Tate's valuable luxury car collection is seized by the Romanian authorities. 8 January 2023 One of the two Tate brothers is allegedly hospitalised after a medical check-up in jail, according to Antena 3, a CNN-partnered Romania news site. A cryptic tweet follows from Tate's account, although it is unclear if he wrote it himself, which states: 'The Matrix has attacked me. But they misunderstand, you cannot kill an idea. Hard to Kill.' 10 January 2023 Tate appears in court in Bucharest to appeal his detention, arriving wearing handcuffs and bearing a copy of the Quran. His lawyers insist there is 'no evidence' against him but the judge rules against him. 31 March 2023 Tate wins an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest after the Bucharest Court of Appeal rules against a judge's decision to extend his incarceration for a fourth time for another 30 days. 20 June 2023 Andrew and Tristan Tate are formally charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. The pair are accused, along with the two Romanian women, of tricking seven alleged victims with false declarations of love and transporting them to take part in pornography. The women were allegedly controlled by 'intimidation, constant surveillance' and claims they were in debt, the prosecution says. 13 July 2023 The Tates launch a $5m lawsuit against a Florida woman whom they claim falsely accused them of imprisoning her in Romania, leading to their arrest there on human trafficking charges. 4 August 2023 Andrew Tate's appeal against house arrest succeeds. Speaking to reporters outside court two days earlier, the influencer had promised: 'The truth will be known very soon.' 8 January 2024 The controversial influencer regains access to his supercars, designer watches and properties after a court overturned a decision to seize his assets. Prosecutors had previously seized 15 luxury vehicles, more than 10 properties and 14 designer watches as well as two blocks of precious metal. 'They took a lot of stuff... 15 cars, and they took a lot of things of a lot of value,' Tate tells reporters. 'It'd be nice to get my things back.' 12 March Both brothers are arrested in Romania over allegations of sexual aggression that date back to 2012 to 2015 and took place within the UK. They are detained for 24 hours and notified of a European arrest warrant that had been issued by Westminster Magistrates Court, with the Bucharest Court of Appeal set to decide whether to execute the warrants. Their extradition to the UK will be arranged after the Romania case is complete. Both Andrew and Tristan Tate deny the allegations, with their representatives saying they are 'fully committed to challenging these accusations with unwavering determination and resolve'. 8 May Andrew Tate is served with civil proceedings papers at his home in Romania. Lawyers on behalf of four British women say the alleged victims are bringing a case against Tate at the High Court in the UK, after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute in 2019. McCue Jury and Partners say all four women allege Tate raped and assaulted them and are seeking 'damages for injuries they suffered as a result'. 22 August Andrew Tate is placed back under house arrest by a Romanian judge as prosecutors investigate new allegations concerning sex with a minor and trafficking underage persons. Tristan Tate is placed under special judicial control, and another four people are detained in connection to the case. Both brothers strongly deny the accusations. The day before, authorities seize cash, luxury watches, laptops, hard drives, documents and 16 luxury cars during a search of four properties. 18 December A court rules that Devon and Cornwall Police can seize more than £2 million from the Tate brothers after they failed to pay any tax in £21 million of revenue from their online business. Devon and Cornwall Police made a legal bid to seize the money, held in seven frozen bank accounts, from the Tates and a woman identified only as J. In his judgment handed down at Westminster Magistrates' Court, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring says what appears to be a 'complex financial matrix' is actually a 'straightforward cheat of the revenue'. 19 December A court in Romania rules the first case involving the Tate brothers and two other women cannot proceed to trial due to multiple legal and procedural irregularities on the part of the prosecutors. The case is sent back to prosecutors for further review. 14 January 2025 Andrew Tate is released from house arrest pending the outcome of a criminal investigation, and is placed under judicial control. This means he can travel within Romania "while adhering to the required legal conditions", according to the BBC. 10 February An American woman accuses the Tate brothers of coercing her to Romania under false pretences, attempting to 'recruit her' into sex work and then 'bullying and harassing' her in a defamation suit. Joseph McBride, a lawyer for the Tate brothers, tells The Independent in an email: '[The center's] civil suit represents a poorly constructed and desperate attempt to relitigate the failed Romanian criminal case in a U.S. court. The unidentified woman's lawyer, Dani Pinter, tells The Independent:"The Tate Brothers supposedly sued Jane Doe because they claimed her testimony to Romanian authorities was a lie. Now, when for the first time Jane Doe tells her side of the story, they threaten sanctions. I think that speaks for itself as to where the truth lies." 27 February Andrew and Tristan Tate fly out of Romania following reports that the Trump administration had pressed the Bucharest government to lift travel restrictions. The brothers leave the country after 5am local time on a private jet from Baneasa airport. Romania's anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, says prosecutors approved a 'request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania', adding: 'These include the requirement to appear before judicial authorities whenever summoned. 'The defendants have been warned that deliberately violating these obligations may result in judicial control being replaced with a stricter deprivation of liberty measure.' 4 March The office of Florida 's attorney general announces it is opening a criminal investigation into the Tate brothers, days after they returned to the US. 'Based on a thorough review of the evidence, I've directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers,' Attorney General James Uthmeier says.
