Jake Paul is getting ready to take on Hasim Rahman Jr. in his sixth professional match. Paul claims he has no clue who controversial kickboxer Andrew Tate is despite his financial success.
Before becoming very popular on social media over the last year, Tate was a reality TV star and a kickboxing champion. He has said that he would be prepared to spend $3 million (£2.5 million) to have a match with Paul. Before quitting combat sports due to eye problems, he competed against some of the top kickboxers in the world and even won a few matches in professional and amateur MMA.
But what Tate isn’t saying is that his fortune is suspected to have ties to human trafficking. Tate was recently raided by police in Romania, where he resides after relocating from the UK.
According to The daily beast:
In 2016, he was booted off the British version of Big Brother over a video of him hitting a woman with a belt. This March, Britain’s Daily Mirror tabloid profiled him and his brother Tristan Tate and their Romania-based business which used webcam models to trick men into sending the brothers tens of thousands of dollars. In one video on his YouTube channel, Andrew Tate said “40 percent” of the reason he moved to Romania was because Romanian police were less likely to pursue sexual assault allegations.
However, Paul seemed to have no idea who Tate was. He was recently questioned about the incident during a flurry at the press conference on Tuesday for his bout with Hasim Rahman Jr. on August 6.
Paul was asked whether he had thought of the British-American boxer to replace Tommy Fury as Fury canceled their planned fight. Paul replied, “I don’t know who that is.”
Paul’s manager Nakisa Bidarian could be heard telling reporters to move on to the next question in an effort to keep the conversation centered on Rahman Jr. After Fury withdrew due to scheduling conflicts, Paul reportedly had to choose between three opponents for August 6.
Tate stated earlier this year on The Fellas podcast:
“I don’t dislike him, I understand him. But I want to make something clear: I would still kick the living f*** out of Jake Paul.”
“I’m not some washed-up UFC fighter and I’m not smaller than him, I would beat the living s*** out of him and if he wants to fight I’ll fight him any day of the f****ng week. He’s very smart with his ‘I’m just a YouTuber angle’.”
“You’re a full-grown man with the best coaches in the world who has dedicated years to learning how to box. The guy’s not a jack*** and the fact he puts this spin on it is very smart.”
After a number of business endeavors with his brother Tristan, Tate’s net worth is said to be around £100 million. Both of them have competed at a high level. However, Andrew Tate seems to have taken the sport more seriously.
Tate would be an intriguing opponent for Paul, who has only faced smaller competition up until his fight with Rahman Jr. Tate weighs around 205 lb and is 6’3″. And if the two got into a fight, he’s sure he’d win.
Tate added: