From Controversy to Champions: Sidekick Boxing’s Journey with Andrew Tate and Jonathan Haggerty

Sidekick Andrew Tate and Jonathan HaggertyThe founder of Sidekick Boxing Daniel Knight has had a formative relationship with outspoken athlete Andrew Tate. Knight, who…

Sidekick Andrew Tate and Jonathan Haggerty

The founder of Sidekick Boxing Daniel Knight has had a formative relationship with outspoken athlete Andrew Tate. Knight, who started Sidekick Boxing in 2010, initially sponsored Tate when he was a rising star in the kickboxing world. Despite the risks associated with Tate’s polarizing personality, Knight saw an opportunity to leverage Tate’s charisma and ability to generate buzz to elevate the Sidekick brand.

Andrew Tate and Sidekick

Andrew Tate, a controversial figure known for his kickboxing and social media presence, got his start with Sidekick and a pair of boxing gloves from the brand. Eventually, he found success with Full-contact kickboxing. The partnership between Knight and Tate lasted about four years. During this time, Tate was the main sponsored fighter for Sidekick Boxing. Knight described Tate as easy to talk to, noting that they quickly became friends.

However, the relationship eventually soured due to difficulties working with Andrew Tate’s team, who allegedly employed unprofessional tactics, such as asking other promoters not to work with Knight and having Tate block him on Twitter.

Despite these challenges, Knight acknowledges the significant impact Tate had on his business. Videos featuring Tate, which initially did not gain much traction, have since garnered hundreds of thousands or even millions of views due to Tate’s rise to fame. Knight credits this exposure with helping his business thrive, stating that Tate’s engagement brought significant attention to Sidekick Boxing.

Knight’s perspective on Tate is nuanced. While he does not agree with many of Tate’s controversial opinions, he recognizes Tate’s ability to create reactions and generate viral content. Knight also notes that Tate was ahead of his time in understanding how to make videos go viral, a skill that has since become widespread among influencers.

Knight appreciates certain aspects of Tate’s message, particularly those encouraging young men to take control of their lives, prioritize fitness, and strive for continuous improvement. He sees some value in Tate’s discussions about masculinity, despite the polarizing nature of these topics. However, Knight does not fully subscribe to Tate’s more extreme ideas, such as the concept of the “matrix” controlling people’s lives.

Haggerty

Jonathan Haggerty

Moving on from the Full-Contact style kickboxer Andrew Tate, Sidekick boxing is now working with the Muay Thai and Kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty. The UK’s Haggerty is a two-sport king brandishing multiple world titles in ONE Championship, capturing both by way of stunning knockout.

Jonathan haggerty

The collaboration with Haggerty highlights the fighter’s achievements and also underscores Sidekick Boxing’s commitment to being a significant player in the combat sports industry by backing top-tier talent.

Jonathan Haggerty, with the backing of Sidekick Boxing, will next face Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 168. The Thai-born Superlek is a top-ranked pound-for-pound talent in Muay Thai going up in weight to challenge for Haggery’s world title. The championship match goes down on September 6.

Kevin Lee Questions Andrew Tate’s Credentials: ‘How Did He Convince People He’s a World Champion?’

Kevin Lee Andrew TateFormer top-ranked UFC fighter has called out Andrew Tate for having a paper title when it comes to combat…

Kevin Lee Andrew Tate

Former top-ranked UFC fighter has called out Andrew Tate for having a paper title when it comes to combat sports. Andrew Tate, known for being an internet influencer and having a stint on reality TV, once had a brief career in kickboxing.

Kevin Lee questions Andrew Tate’s Kickboxing

“The Motown Phenom” Kevin Lee was a standout collegiate wrestler before transitioning to MMA. In the UFC he had solid wins against opponents such as Edson Barboza, Michael Chiesa, and Francisco Trinaldo. He also had wars in the competitive lightweight division against the likes of Tony Ferguson, Rafael dos Anjos, and Charles Oliveira. But Lee might be best known for his stunning head-kick knockout against Gregor Gillespie.

On X, formerly Twitter, the athlete called out Andrew Tate:

“How tf did Andrew Tate convince people that he’s a world champion??”

Andrew Tate just had his home raided in Romania involving charges of human trafficking and rape, involving minors. He is awaiting trial.

Andrew Tate Kickboxing Career

Tate is best known for being on Big Brother and being an internet personality as his kickboxing career was unremarkable. Andrew Tate competed in full-contact style kickboxing which is a modified version of kickboxing that allows for fewer kicks. No major organizations use full-contact kickboxing rules, K-1, GLORY, RISE, and ONE Championship have never used the full-contact rules and it is not popular. Additionally, full-contact style kickboxing is not competitive or deep. It has close to no competitors.

Tate held titles in full-contact style kickboxing, again this is not standard kickboxing, under ISKA and Enfusion. Enfusion is a builder organization that helps funnel regional talent into the bigger leagues, such as GLORY. K-1, GLORY, ONE, and RISE are all considered major kickboxing titles, ISKA and Enfusion are not top-line championships.

Andrew Tate

Any notable kickboxer throughout history including Ernesto Hoost, Badr Hari, Buakaw Banchamek, Alex Pereira, Alistair Overeem, Peter Aerts, and others, did not compete in full-contact style kickboxing. They also competed in major organizations such as K-1 or GLORY, not Enfusion or ISKA. In summary, Kevin Lee has a point.

Below is K-1 kickboxing with standard rules, this is NOT a full-contact match.

Andrew Tate’s Home Raided in Amid New Allegations Involving Minors

Andrew Tate Arrested Home RaidedRomanian authorities conducted new raids at Andrew Tate’s home as part of an investigation into allegations involving minors. Andrew…

Andrew Tate Arrested Home Raided

Romanian authorities conducted new raids at Andrew Tate’s home as part of an investigation into allegations involving minors. Andrew Tate is awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal group to exploit women. The former full-contact fighter is now an internet personality who is friends with many MMA fighters.

Andrew Tate Raids

The Romanian anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, searched four properties in Bucharest and Ilfov county, focusing on human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual relations with a minor, influencing statements, and money laundering. Hearings will be held at DIICOT’s headquarters. Andrew Tate’s spokesperson confirmed that the legal team is involved and that the charges include human trafficking and money laundering.

The raids involved numerous police and forensic personnel examining Tate’s property. Tate, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women, was arrested in 2022. They have denied all allegations. The brothers were detained for 24 hours, the maximum allowed without a judicial extension.

Ex-Kickboxer Andrew Tate and brother Tristian Tate arrested again in Romania appear in court

Andrew Tate Arrested

Tate expressed frustration over the slow progress of the case, claiming a lack of evidence and a political conspiracy against him. The Bucharest Tribunal previously ruled that the case against the Tates could proceed to trial, although no date has been set.

After their arrest, the Tates were initially held in police detention, then placed under house arrest, and later restricted to certain areas in Romania. A court decision allowing them to leave Romania was overturned, restricting them to the country until legal proceedings concluded. Additionally, the Tates face extradition to the UK for separate allegations of sexual aggression, pending the conclusion of Romanian legal proceedings.

Andrew Tate once had success in full-contact kickboxing, a modified version of kickboxing that allows for fewer kicks and is not popular. Major kickboxing organizations do not use full-contact rules. The kickboxing career of Andrew Tate never reached the major leagues as he found success only in regional organizations.

Controversial kickboxing star Andrew Tate teases combat sports comeback: ‘The return of the Top G’

Controversial kickboxing star Andrew Tate teases combat sports comeback: 'The return of the Top G'Andrew Tate still has some fight left in him. On Saturday night, Tate was introduced as one of the…

Controversial kickboxing star Andrew Tate teases combat sports comeback: 'The return of the Top G'

Andrew Tate still has some fight left in him.

On Saturday night, Tate was introduced as one of the lead sponsors for the Social Knockout 3 card in Dubai — the same event where ex-UFC star Darren Till made his pro boxing debut, followed promptly by an all-out brawl when his opponent disagreed with the ruling.

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Awaiting trial for a slew of criminal charges in Romania, Tate could not attend the event in person. Instead, he delivered a video message to fans in attendance, teasing his potential return to the ring.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by TK Fight Night™ (@tkfightnight)

“My name is Andrew Tate, the Top G and you’ve probably realized by now that the show is sponsored by Cobratate.com,” Tate said.

“Unfortunately I cannot be at the event in person, I am still being constrained by the system but I am watching remotely from here in Bucharest, Romania and the show looks fantastic. I want to give a huge congratulations to Tam Khan [promoter] and I want to wish a lot of luck to all of the fighters who are fighting tonight, give it your all. I’m thinking of course you’re going to see me at a future Social Knockout event.

“But do you want to see me in the crowd or do you want to see me in the ring to see what moves I have left? I’m not too old yet, they haven’t damaged me that much yet, I’ve got a few moves left so stay tuned. Once again, congratulations to everybody and I can’t wait to be there in person” (h/t Bloody Elbow).

Andrew Tate

Social Knockout 4 ‘Will be the return’ of Andrew Tate

TK Fight Night, the account that shared the video on Instagram, also captioned the click revealing that Social Knockout 4 will feature “the return” of Andrew Tate.

“Social Knockout 4 will be the return of the Top G himself…. You think this event went viral? Just wait for the next!”

No announcements have been made regarding the date or location of SK4.

Andrew Tate

Andrew Tate has not competed in kickboxing since 2020 when he scored a second-round TKO against Cosmin Lingurar at KO Masters 8 in Bucharest. Overall, Tate has a record of 76-9-1, though that has been the subject of some dispute given the poor record-keeping of kickboxing bouts in the UK and Europe.

He only has one mixed martial arts fight under his belt, a 2010 knockout of Shane Kavanagh at Ultimate Warrior Challenge 13 in Essex, England.

Andrew Tate

UFC star Sean Strickland reveals why he has no respect for ‘scam artist’ Andrew Tate

UFC star Sean Strickland explains why he has no respect for 'Scam Artist' Andrew TateSean Strickland believes Andrew Tate is nothing more than a scam artist. In recent years, both Strickland and Tate…

UFC star Sean Strickland explains why he has no respect for 'Scam Artist' Andrew Tate

Sean Strickland believes Andrew Tate is nothing more than a scam artist.

In recent years, both Strickland and Tate have become two of the biggest names in the world of combat sports, largely due to their hot takes that often range from hilariously harmless to downright vile. But despite their parallel views on an assortment of topics, they are far from friends.

Recently, one fan expressed his surprise that Strickland doesn’t “fw” Tate, prompting ‘Tarzan’ to respond and explain why he has no respect for the American-British kickboxer.

Sean Strickland

“I don’t “fw with tate” because he is a scam artist,” Strickland wrote on X. “He manipulated and used men then joked about how much money they would give him while he pretended to be a woman. I don’t understand how anyone can respect that.”

That prompted Tate to respond on social media in an attempt to defend himself and his business practices.

Tate responds to Sean Strickland

“Well Sean. It’s true we had a cam company where the girls pretended to like men,” Tate wrote in response. “Saved men from suicide and depression more often than you’d believe to have a girl across the world remember their birthdays. You’re worried about my income from over a decade ago, I suggest you instead focus on training. Retirement comes around quicker than you’ll realise.”

Andrew Tate is under investigation in Romania and the UK

Following a deep dive into Andrew Tate’s media appearances, website records, and archives of his Instagram and YouTube accounts by NBC News, the outlet revealed that Tate himself once referred to his sexually explicit webcam business as a “total scam” and boasted on his website that he lured women in by getting them to fall in love with him.

In December 2022, Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, were arrested in Romania along with two women. All four were charged in June 2023 with rape, human trafficking, and forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit women.

Andrew Tate

In March 2024, the UK’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court issued an arrest warrant for the brothers based on allegations of sexual aggression from 2012–2015. That same month, the Romanian court ruled that the brothers could be extradited to the UK only after the Romanian trial for human trafficking concluded.

The Tate brothers “categorically reject all charges.”

Andrew Tate

Report – Andrew Tate arrested after streamer Adin Ross leaked plans for him to depart Romania

Andrew Tate arrested in Romania after Adin Ross leaked plans for him to escape warrantFormer kickboxer and internet personality Andrew Tate was arrested after influencer Adin Ross reportedly snitched on his escape plans….

Andrew Tate arrested in Romania after Adin Ross leaked plans for him to escape warrant

Former kickboxer and internet personality Andrew Tate was arrested after influencer Adin Ross reportedly snitched on his escape plans.

Tate and his brother Tristan, were detained by Romanian police on Monday night on arrest warrants over alleged sexual offenses in Britain. According to reports, a representative for the Tate brothers before the hearing described the arrest warrant as a “bewildering revival of decade-old accusations” leaving the brothers “dismayed and deeply troubled”.

Ex-Kickboxer Andrew Tate and brother Tristian Tate arrested again in Romania appear in court

“They categorically reject all charges and express profound disappointment that such serious allegations are being resurrected without substantial new evidence,” the statement said. “They are fully committed to challenging these accusations with unwavering determination and resolve.”

Although the arrest came as a surprise, it appears Romanian police moved after Adin Ross read a text on live stream where Tate said he would be leaving Romania.

“Andrew had hit me up and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to be leaving Romania soon and probably never coming back. So, if you want to come over and do a long week of streams and content before I leave. He said it’s basically now or never,” Ross said on his stream.

Adin Ross

After Ross revealed that Andrew Tate was planning on leaving Romania for good, the Romanian Police reportedly moved in to arrest him before it could happen. According to reports, it was thought that Tate would flee to a country where there were no extradition laws with Romania or Britain.

Andrew Tates’s combat sports record

Andrew Tate has competed in both kickboxing and MMA as a pro.

He fought once in MMA as a pro in 2010 and scored a first-round KO over Shane Kavanaugh at a regional show in England.

Andrew Tate Kickboxer

Tate is more known for his kickboxing career as he was the ISKA full-contact light cruiserweight champ as well as holding the IKF British Cruiserweight champion, among other belts.

In kickboxing, Tate is 76-9-1 and last competed in December of 2020 when he defeated Cosmin Lingurar by TKO. Tate had won 32 of his 76 wins by stoppage.