TYSON FURY’S co-promoter Bob Arum has no problem with the fighter being advised by an alleged crime kingpin.
The WBC king thanked Dubai-based businessman Daniel Kinahan – who has no criminal record – for helping to secure a 50-50 over any potential fight with Anthony Joshua.
Bob Arum, pictured left of Tyson Fury, has no issue with Daniel Kinahan brokering the Anthony Joshua fight
Bob Arum gave Daniel Kinahan, right, a shout out on social media
The Twitter shout-out sparked a flurry of interest in the previously low-profile broker, who is regularly on the front page of the papers in Ireland over his reported running of the Kinahan crime cartel.
The issue has been mentioned in the Irish parliament and reports claim the Irish government has approached the UAE over having the fight mogul extradited.
However, 88-year-old Arum has joined world champs like Fury, Billy Joe Saunders and his trainer Ben Davison in defending his actions around the sport.
Arum, a former federal prosecutor, said: “They don’t really speak on how he has acted when he has been involved in boxing, which is forthright, honest, reliable, etc.
“Boxing has been used by many people who’ve had questionable backgrounds.
“If they conduct themselves well, then they achieve a new type of attitude that people have to them because they’re nothing but forthright and honest.
“This is not unusual in boxing, where somebody comes in, has some questionable background in the past, and then goes into boxing, and then he is judged for how he acts in this sport.
“He has developed a great deal of trust with my company, myself and our people, and he certainly is a trusted confidant of Tyson Fury.
“So obviously, his participation and his views were most significant and most important in getting this off the ground.”
Sky Sports in Ireland have been targeted regarding their relationship with MTK Global, the management firm Kinahan co-created but has no current affiliation with.
And Dublin MP Neale Richmond has written to Sky and BT – who are expected to bid to show the Fury vs AJ match-up – to urge them to do thorough research in the set-up.
On Thursday, Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said: “While I can’t comment on any particular Garda operation I can certainly assure you there has been contact between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the authorities in the United Arab Emirates about that matter.”
A Criminal Assets Bureau affidavit in the High Court named Kinahan as the boss of the day-to-day drug trafficking operations of the Kinahan gang.
But a string of high-profile and household names have come to his defence.
Respected trainer Davison, who was part of the masterplan that guided Fury back from the brink until they parted company before the Wilder rematch win in February, insists Kinahan is not getting enough credit for his work with grassroots boxing.
Davison wrote on Twitter: “Do you know how many fighters get abused through their careers?
“Add that with the amount of fighters mismanaged and never make it. Add that with the young fighters who give up because there’s no path or platform.
“What Daniel has done for boxing is phenomenal, fighters, coaches and promoters are thankful to have this breath of fresh air to the sport with the way Daniel has worked and has proven to work.
“You can’t deny that, whatever you’ve read has led you to believe.”
Irish Labour Party leader Alan Kelly calls Daniel Kinahan ‘a very senior figure in organised crime on a global scale’ in question put to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Irish parliament
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
