Bob Arum speaks on Tyson Fury’s split with controversial advisor Daniel Kinahan
When Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn recently announced that unified world heavyweight champion Anthony “AJ” Joshua (23-1, 21 KO’s) and WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury (30-0-1, 21 KO’s) had agreed to a two-fight deal in principle, it was a double-edged sword for Fury.
On the one-hand it was beneficial because it gave the public both something to get excited and talk about.
At the same time, the juicy bit of news also shined light on the deal and it’s behind the scenes players. One of those key players, advisor Daniel Kinahan, has remained mired in controversy for some time now. Once news of the two-fight deal broke, Fury himself took to his social media to specifically credit and thank Kinahan for getting the transaction finalized.
STRANGE BED-FELLOWS
When Fury made that appreciative post, however, it set off a firestorm of dislike. Despite having no official criminal convictions, in his native Ireland, Kinahan (42), has long been suspected of controlling an international drug smuggling operation that is alleged to be worth roughly $1 billion dollars.
Several prominent Irish political figures stepped up to voice their displeasure in hearing about Kinahan’s involvement with the potential mega-fight. In fact, Irish politician Neale Richmond went so far as to say:
“Daniel Kinahan cannot continue to use boxing as a tool to rehabilitate his image and whitewash his very sinister criminal pasts as per the ruling of our special criminal court. We also need to see clarity from MTK of what exact role Daniel Kinahan has with them.
“It’s time other boxers like Billy Joe Saunders dropped Daniel Kinahan and distanced themselves from him. We have seen our brave journalists lead the charge in exposing Daniel Kinahan for who he is. There is much more work to be done though.”
Credit: The Telegraph
Kinahan has worked with Fury as his advisor for the past three years. During this time span he was a critical component in brokering the Gypsy Kings lucrative deals with ESPN and Top Rank.
TOP RANKS RESPONSE
Since Fury announced that he was putting some distance between himself and his advisor, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, has stepped forward to offer a bit more explanation to TalkSport on Team Fury’s position on the matter.
“Over the weekend I’ve had a lot of conversations with Tyson Fury and what we both decided is that myself, Top Rank and Fury will do all negotiations for fights in the future. Whether it’s for Joshua or Wilder or anybody else. We’ve informed Eddie Hearn about that. He knows where to go for the negotiations.
“Tyson and I have had long negotiations about it. That’s the way it’s going to be.
“This will eliminate a lot of confusion. We’ve talked with Dan, who Tyson and I both love and admire and respect and he understands that it’s best the negotiations on Tyson’s side be handled that way.
“Both Tyson and I have each discussed this with Dan and he is amenable and satisfied and wished us luck. He only wants the best for Tyson Fury.”
Credit: talkSport
MURKY PAST
It will be interesting to see how these very serious allegations play out for Kinahan back in his homeland. While it definitely not a good look for Fury, this is very far from his first association with criminal figures.
The Gypsy King’s father, John Fury, was sentenced to 11 years of prison time for gouging a man’s eye out back in 2011. His uncle, Peter Fury, was charged and convicted of distributing amphetamines in 1994. Then in 2006 Peter Fury was convicted and jailed anew on charges of money-laundering.
This close connection to so many shady dealings is why many still view Fury with a “skeptical eye”. While there is no questioning his boxing talent or ability, he has been suspected of tampering with his glove in three separate fights and has been involved in his own PED’s doping scandals in two separate prizefights.
Following his November 28, 2015 bout with Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko (64-5, 53 KO’s), the WBC champion was flagged for having the illegal banned steroid nandrolone in his system. However, this instance was more or less swept under the rug when he disappeared from the sport and descended into obesity and depression.
When he returned, few people brought up the scandal and simply chose to talk about his advocacy for mental health.
Earlier this year, UK farmer Martin Carefoot accused Team Fury of bribing him to falsely say that he supplied the tainted meat that resulted in the Gypsy King failing another PED’s test for his February 28, 2015 bout against Christian Hammer.
Despite providing official testimony to an investigative body, Carefoot decided to come clean when he stated he never received his “hush money”.
Whether truly on the right or wrong side of these issues when it comes to Fury, both in and out of the ring, there is certainly never a dull moment!
By: Bakari Simpson
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