By: Sean Crose
Unfortunately, boxing and organized crime have a longstanding relationship. Although nationality, ethnicity, race, and even era may change, it is hard to deny that gangster is a gangster and gangsters have polluted the sport. Boxing sports throughout history are sometimes notorious, sometimes glorious. Whether it’s Primo Canera, Sonny Liston, Jake LaMotta or others, famous boxers have a long history of being reported “arrested”. And while these numbers may be wrongly accused, it’s hard to argue gangsters like the late Frankie Carbo have been in the fighting game for decades.
With that in mind – they say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Fighting fans can certainly nod definitively to this assertion, ahead of Saturday’s heavyweight title bout in London between defending champion Tyson Fury and challenger Dillian Whyte, much of it made up by Fury’s connection to Daniel Kinahan, a young-looking Irishman in his forties. live in Dubai. As the founder of sports management company MTK Global, the man has been involved with the fighting game for many years, and – on paper at least – with Fury, who is represented by the company.
However, despite what he has said, Kinahan is considered much more than a backstage player in the fighting game. In fact, boxing is simply said to be a front for the Kinahan Cartel, an Ireland-based drug cartel with a history of brutal violence. When they were not yet active drug in Europe, Kinahan is believed to have been behind many murders. However, unless the claims of his innocence are true, the situation seems to have tilted in favor of Kinahan and his famous, eponymous crew. To put it bluntly, Irish, British and American law enforcement are all over Kinahan – and in a very public way.
So where will this take Fury just days before he faces Whyte in front of the reported 90,000 people at London’s Wembley Stadium? The towering England international is unlikely to be in any legal trouble. Like many, if not most, famous boxers who are accused of “frauds”, there is no evidence that the man dubbed the “King of Gypsy” was involved. organized crime. Law enforcement is still pursuing your former advisor while the management company representing you refuses because becoming a front for the mob will inevitably have its consequences.
Fury has been open about his battle with mental illness and substance abuse. Will the strain over his relationship with a notorious crime boss affect his performance on Saturday? Fury may be favored to beat veteran contender Whyte, but if he’s not fully focused, the world could see a new WBC champion and midfield crowned this weekend. . Again, Fury is known for having a strong personality, very strong. One simply couldn’t get up from the blow Fury did after Deontay Wilder put him on the carpet in the final round of their first fight unless one was thoroughly identified. And, once determined, Fury is VERY hard to beat.
