BILLY JOE SAUNDERS revealed he could walk away from boxing if Daniel Kinahan is forced out of sport.
Kinahan, who has faced allegations in the High Court that he runs a multi-million-pound drug empire, has been a long-time friend and career advisor to Saunders.
Billy Joe Saunders revealed he could walk away from boxing if Daniel Kinahan is forced out of sport
Kinahan has been a long-time friend and career advisor to Saunders
But the alleged boss of Ireland’s Kinahan cartel is said to be quitting boxing.
It comes after Tyson Fury faced backlash for thanking the Dubai-based businessman for brokering a two-fight deal for the WBC champion to face Anthony Joshua in an historic undisputed title fight.
And Saunders revealed if Kinahan, who has no criminal record, is forced out of boxing then he too could leave as he would be left with no one else trustworthy to handle his career.
He told iFL TV: “This is part of the reason why nothing with me is moving forward at the minute, because there’s only one man I can trust.
“Without a man you can trust in this game 100 per cent, it’s something that I don’t really want to be involved with any more.
“I’ve taken a lot of advice from a personal friend of mine, Daniel, and I know he’s walking away from boxing which is a big, big loss in my eyes.
Without a man you can trust in this game 100 per cent, it’s something that I don’t really want to be involved with anymore.
Billy Joe Saunders
“I don’t know if I want to be a part of it at this level any more moving forward.
“He’s going to be walking away 100 per cent, and if he does then I don’t really want to be apart of that unless he can sort out my contract before he walks away or something like that.
“He’s done so much for boxing, he did so much for MTK, he did so much for Irish boxing and world boxing.”
Kinahan set up the MGM boxing gym in Marbella with Matthew Macklin but the former fighter then sold it before it turned into management company MTK.
MTK insist they cut ties with Kinahan in 2017, though he continued to advise boxers on his own.
Kinahan has never been convicted of any crime but is allegedly a central figure in his dad’s €1billion drugs empire.
Kinahan with heavyweight Tyson Fury
Saunders questions why he should be forced out of boxing despite not being convicted of any of his alleged crimes.
He said: “What I can’t understand and get my head around is, the man has no criminal convictions, nothing, whatsoever.
“They’re talking like he’s killed a million people, he has not got one criminal conviction.
“He’s involved in a legitimate business, boxing, advising people, making their lives obviously a lot better.
“If he’s this bad criminal, why don’t you do something about it? Arrest him, take him away and take him to prison if he’s killed people. Do it. Why haven’t you done it?
“Because there’s nothing there.”
Saunders’s trainer Ben Davison also referenced legendary promoter Don King having a manslaughter conviction but still promoting the likes of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.
Davison also praised Kinahan for helping finalise Fury’s reported £80million ESPN deal, which in turn provided MTK with a TV deal allowing small hall fighters more exposure.
Fury’s US promoter Bob Arum recently confirmed he will now advise the heavyweight champion going forward, after ties were cut with Kinahan.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum with Kinahan
Eddie Hearn says he was ‘a little surprised’ by the uproar over Daniel Kinahan being praised by Tyson Fury
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
