60 Wednesday April 13 2022 | the times
SportBoxing
Ayr
Going: good to soft (good in places)
1.00 (3m 70yd) 1, Ailie Rose (B S Hughes, 8-11
fav); 2, Hasty Brook (11-10); 3, Perfect Arch
(33-1). 6Kl, 49l. S R B Crawford.
1.30 (2m 4f 100yd) 1, Sundrenched
(L A McKenna, 15-2); 2, Hogan (5-1); 3, Tfou
(6-4 fav). 8 ran. NR: Thunder In Milan. 1Kl, 1Kl.
J J Lambe.
2.05 (3m 2f 197yd) 1, Destiny Is All (D R Fox,
8-11 fav); 2, Straight Swap (9-2); 3, Event Of
Sivola (9-4). NR: Donna’s Delight, Gipsy Lee
Rose, Houston Texas. 1Nl, 19l. Miss Lucinda V
Russell.
2.40 (2m 5f 110yd) 1, Hidden Commander (Sean
Quinlan, 2-5 fav); 2, Caboy (12-1); 3, Boy’s On
Tour (28-1). 9 ran. Kl, 1Nl. W Coltherd.
3.15 (2m 5f 91yd) 1, On We Go (Sean Quinlan,
3-1 fav); 2, Pammi (11-1); 3, Gustav’s Dream
(5-1). 10 ran. 5Kl, 1Ol. G Boanas.
3.50 (3m 70yd) 1, Shoeshine Boy (Craig Nichol,
7-2); 2, Release The Kraken (4-1); 3, Your Place
(6-1). 10 ran. NR: You Some Boy. ns, 13l.
D W Whillans.
4.20 (2m 110yd) 1, Douglas Talking (D R Fox,
10-11);. 2 ran. ns, 13l. Miss Lucinda V Russell.
Placepot: £15.10.
Quadpot: £5.90.Newmarket
Going: good
1.15 (5f) 1, Powerdress (S M Levey, 9-1);
2, Yahsat (8-1); 3, Lost Angel (8-1). 10 ran.
Hd, 1Ol. R Hannon.
1.50 (6f) 1, Gale Force Maya (Connor Beasley,
11-2 fav); 2, Bergerac (6-1); 3, Raatea
(7-1). 12 ran. NR: Punchbowl Flyer. ns, Kl.
M Dods.
2.25 (7f) 1, New Science (W Buick, 3-1);
2, Tacarib Bay (9-4 jt-fav); 3, Ribhi (9-4 jt-fav).
5 ran. 1Nl, 2l. C Appleby.3.00 (1m 1f) 1, Master Of The Seas (W Buick,
5-4 fav); 2, Megallan (9-4); 3, Brunch (12-1).
7 ran. 1Nl, 2Ol. C Appleby.
3.35 (7f) 1, Cachet (W Buick, 15-8 fav);
2, Almohandesah (28-1); 3, Hello You (11-4).
8 ran. NR: System. 2Kl, 1Ol. G Boughey.
4.10 (1m) 1, Crenelle (L Dettori, 6-5 fav);
2, Fonteyn (11-2); 3, Rebel Love (16-1). 10 ran.
Nk, 8Kl. J T Gosden.
4.45 (1m 2f) 1, Educator (Tom Marquand, 11-4
fav); 2, High Fibre (4-1); 3, Israr (4-1). 7 ran. ns,
2l. W J Haggas.
Placepot: £19.40.
Quadpot: £2.70.Wolverhampton
Going: standard
5.05 (1m 4f 51yd) 1, Way Of Life (Jack Mitchell,
6-1); 2, Study The Stars (8-11 fav);
3, Termonator (8-1). 11 ran. Ol, nk. J G Portman.
5.40 (5f 21yd) 1, Rhinoplasty (S H James, 3-1);
2, Zapper Cass (11-1); 3, Alaskan Jewel (11-2).
8 ran. NR: Doc Sportello. 1N, nk. K R Burke.
6.15 (5f 21yd) 1, Red Walls (Jack Mitchell, 5-1);
2, Amazing Amaya (17-2); 3, Mutabaahy (14-1).
9 ran. Sh hd, Kl. L Williamson.
6.45 (1m 4f 51yd) 1, Asgoodassobergets(R Kingscote, 5-4 fav); 2, Charles St (10-3);
3, Mostly Sunny (20-1). 8 ran. Kl, nk. T Ward.
7.15 (1m 4f 51yd) 1, Old Port (George Downing,
85-40); 2, Desert Emperor (11-8 fav); 3, White
Willow (4-1). 5 ran. Ol, ns. P D Evans.
7.45 (6f 20yd) 1, Watchya (A Kirby, 9-4 fav);
2, Eternal Glory (28-1); 3, Sir Henry Cotton
(9-2). 7 ran. 1Ol, Ol. C G Cox.
8.15 (1m 142yd) 1, Plumette (R Kingscote, 7-2);
2, Arcadian Nights (12-1); 3, Visibility (13-2).
9 ran. 2N, 1Nl. D Loughnane.
Placepot: £97.50.
Quadpot: £32.40.suggestion that any of them is involved
in criminality. Fury, though, is the big-
gest name with links to Kinahan. In
February 2020, he said of the Joshua
deal in a video clip posted online: “I’m
just after getting off the phone there
with Daniel Kinahan. He’s just in-
formed me that the biggest fight in Brit-
ish boxing history has just been agreed.
“Big shout out Dan, he got this done.
Literally over the line. Two-fight deal.”
In June 2020, Fury’s US promoter,
Bob Arum, said that Kinahan was no
longer working as the boxer’s adviser,
but the contact with Fury appeared to
continue nevertheless.
Arum told the Daily Mail yesterday
that he would no longer deal with Kina-
han. “We will respect the sanctions,” he
said. “We will deal directly with Tyson
or his lawyer. I wasn’t pleased with a
number of things he was doing in box-
ing. I was looking to sever ties anyway.”‘Sport chiefs
must look at
who they do
deals with’
declined to comment, saying that he
was focused only on his bout.
In March, the WBC president, Mau-
ricio Sulaimán, said he gave Kinahan
his “full backing” over his involvement
in the sport. Other promoters, profes-
sionals and figures connected to boxing
have also been pictured with Kinahan
in recent months and he has operated
as a personal adviser to several fighters.
Authorities in the British Isles urged
the sport to cut ties with the Kinahan
cartel and said that such links were now
prohibited in the US.
Drew Harris, the commissioner of
the gardai in Ireland, told a news
conference: “What was implicit is now
absolutely explicit and if you deal
with these individuals who have been
sanctioned, or the entities that have
been sanctioned, you are involved in a
criminal network.
“I would ask them [boxing] to look to
their own business, the probity of their
business and their relationship with
their fans and, really, is this something
that they want to be involved with in
terms of their legitimate business? I
would think the answer to that is a
resounding ‘no’.”
John O’Driscoll, an assistant garda
commissioner with responsibility over
special crime operations, added: “The
manner in which they have interfered
in the sporting world has provided
more incentive — if we didn’t have
enough — to bring about the downfall
of this organised-crime group.”
Matt Horne, the deputy director of
investigations at the UK’s National
Crime Agency, said the “group is a high-
threat, high-harm organised-crime
gang” and a “highly significant organi-
sation that impacts on the UK”.
He added: “It is absolutely a matter
for the leaders of sport to take a look at
who they are doing business with, and
whether they are comfortable with
that, to take the right steps.”
Fury has previously stood by Kina-
han, who has no criminal convictions
but has been named in the Irish High
Court by officers from the Criminal
Assets Bureau as the head of a £1 billion
drug and arms cartel.
Kinahan was a co-founder of the
MTK boxing management agency,
which has since claimed that he no
longer has any involvement, despite
him continuing to manage the careers
of a number of fighters. Kinahan’s law-
yers and MTK have been approached
for comment but did not respond.
The US also sanctioned three busi-
nesses identified as “Kinahan associ-
ates”, including the UAE-based
Hoopoe Sports. On its website it lists
five boxers as clients: Paddy Barnes,
Jamie Conlan, Michael Conlan, Hughie
Fury and Billy Joe Saunders. Also sanc-
tioned by the US were the Kinahans’
associates Sean McGovern, Ian Dixon,
Bernard Clancy and John Morrissey.continued from back
Gangster greased palms to
pull strings of boxing’s elite
Martyn Ziegler
Chief Sports
ReporterIn February last year, a BBC
Panorama investigation claimed that
Kinahan was still working at the top of
the sport despite MTK Global — the
boxing management business he
helped to set up — saying he was step-
ping away from the sport.
The relationship with MTK and
boxers linked to Kinahan has been a
difficult one for the broadcasters to
negotiate. BT Sport’s Box Office
channel is showing the Fury-Whyte
fight. A spokeswoman for the broad-
caster said: “We have not had, and don’t
have, relationships or contact with
Daniel Kinahan or MTK.” It is under-
stood BT insists on anti-corruption and
bribery clauses in all contracts, which it
makes sure its partners are aware of.
Sky Sports, too, is on high alert about
any possible associations with Kina-
han. In September, it denied a claim by
the Matchroom Boxing chief, Eddie
Hearn, that it had spoken to the
gangster about fights involving three
boxers managed by MTK. Sky Sports
said in a statement that it was “aware of
recent developments”, adding: “We
always scrutinise and act responsibly in
our boxing relationships.”
The US treasury measures may now
bring an end to Kinahan’s involvement
in the sport. Fury and the other boxers
who have posed for pictures with him in
the past will now be aware that the
world — and the law-enforcement
authorities — will be watching closely.Fury, wearing an Arab headdress, posed for a photograph with Kinahan in Dubai
two months ago. Above: how The Times reported his role in trying to set up a
Joshua-Fury fight, and below, a wanted poster issued by the US governmentYesterday’s racing results
Tyson Fury has never attempted to
hide his close links to Daniel Kinahan,
the Irish crime boss who has now been
sanctioned by the United States
government, with a $5 million bounty
put on his head.
As recently as February, Fury —
wearing an Arabic headdress — was
pictured arm in arm with Kinahan at a
gym in Dubai. Two years ago, the WBC
world heavyweight champion credited
Kinahan with organising a two-bout
deal against Anthony Joshua, though a
fight never took place.
Fury’s representatives say he is
focused on his title defence against
Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium on
April 23, and that they have not fol-
lowed the developments from America.
The picture of Fury with Kinahan did
not go down well in Ireland, where the
44-year-old was named in the High
Court as the head of a crime family
dealing in drugs and arms. Leo Varad-
kar, the deputy prime minister, was “not
impressed” with the photograph and
said there would be “contact between
our authorities and the authorities in
the UAE about that matter”.
It is not only Fury who has links to
Kinahan — the president of the WBC,
Mauricio Sulaimán, has visited him in
recent months, while other boxers and
promoters have been pictured with
him, including Sam Jones, of Probellum
promoters, and one of its boxers Sunny
Edwards, the IBF flyweight champion.
“Always good seeing my friend
Daniel. Great advice as always and
brilliant for the sport,” wrote Jones, in a
tweet which was later deleted. The Times
has approached him for comment.
The courts in Ireland have accepted
that an organised crime group linked to
Kinahan is involved in drug trafficking
and execution-style murders. The
group is also suspected of involvement
in a feud with a rival Dublin gang that
has resulted in 18
murders. He has
never been convicted
of an offence and his
lawyer has previously
denied any wrong-
doing.
There is no sugges-
tion that Fury, Ed-
wards, Jones and
others from the boxing
world are involved in
criminality, but there is
now heavy pressure in
Ireland, the UK and the
US for them to cut any
remaining links. Yet
one source involved in
the sport has told The Times that it is
difficult to avoid being involved with
Kinahan, even if it is at arm’s length.
“It’s a big issue for boxing,” the source
said. “The Kinahans grease the boxers’
palms and they then get
a say in the fights. Kina-
han is still controlling
things in the back-
ground.”
The US also sanc-
tion three businesses
highlighted as being
close to Kinahan.
These include Hoo-
poe Sports, based in
the UAE, which lists
among its clients the
boxers Paddy Barnes,
Jamie Conlan, Mich-
ael Conlan, Hughie
Fury, and Billy Joe
Saunders. There is noa h t g t h c T p t a b J a F SPbbF i A bh dd df h h ihKi h i Dbi