Tyson Fury-Dillian Whyte bout mired in controversy
By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist
Boxing has always been masterfully creative in drumming up interest for its big fights, playing up plotlines to their maximum effect and using whatever means necessary to get people talking.
There have been beefs both real and imagined, outrageous promotional tour pranks, in-studio scuffles, boxers claiming they were, ahem, romantically involved with their rival’s girlfriend — you name it.
World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury once even turned up at a press conference wearing a Batman suit and proceeded to wrestle on the floor with a hired actor dressed as The Joker. Yet as odd as that scene was, it doesn’t come close to rivaling the surreal nature of his bout this weekend.
On Saturday, Fury (31-0-1, 22 knockouts) will take on fellow Englishman Dillian Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) in front of 94,000 spectators at London’s Wembley Stadium. However, the entirety of the build-up has been overshadowed by the name of a man who won’t be in attendance, who isn’t a boxer and who denies being directly involved in the fight game at all.
Daniel Kinahan, until recently, remained a somewhat mysterious figure in boxing, routinely praised by and photographed with elite fighters, and described as the founder of the MTK Global promotional company, which claimed an extensive stable of high-profile boxers.
There had long been whispers about Kinahan’s position in the organized crime underworld in his native Ireland, especially after an exposé about his alleged illegal activities titled "Boxing and the Mob" was aired by the BBC last year.
Last week, things took their most dramatic turn yet, when the United States Department of the Treasury and the State Department took major action against what it called the Kinahan Organized Crime Group (KOCG), alleging it is a "murderous organization involved in the international trafficking of drugs and firearms" and money laundering.
A Treasury statement alleged Kinahan as the head of the KOCG. He is accused of running its daily operations from his Dubai headquarters, sourcing large quantities of cocaine from South America, attempting to import drugs into the United Kingdom and allegedly making murder-for-hire payments related to a killing carried out on behalf of the KOCG.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of each of Kinahan, his father Christopher Sr. and his brother Christopher Jr.
What has this got to do with Fury and the defense of his WBC and lineal world heavyweight titles? Actually, quite a lot.
As recently as February, Fury and Kinahan were photographed together in Dubai. Kinahan has frequently been cast publicly as Fury’s "advisor" and last weekend Top Rank’s Bob Arum — Fury’s American promoter — admitted he had paid Kinahan in excess of $4 million for four fights featuring Fury over the past few years.
MTK Global, formed by Kinahan and ex-boxer Matthew Macklin in 2012, has recently claimed it was no longer associated with Kinahan. However, MTK fighters have routinely been pictured with the alleged crime figure. On Monday, MTK Global CEO Bob Yalen stepped down, citing the pressure brought by the government scrutiny. On Wednesday the company announced it was folding.
As part of the crackdown, American banks and, more relevantly to boxing, American companies, are now forbidden from doing business with Kinahan and his associates. A U.S. government official also likened Kinahan’s alleged gang to Japan’s infamous yakuza and the Italian mafia.
It has all forced Fury, a -500 favorite with FOX Bet against Whyte, onto the back foot. He took turns between being humorously dismissive and flat-out argumentative in a midweek press conference, stating the U.S. government action had not registered significantly with him because he "doesn’t pay attention to the media."
As for the Arum payment revelations, he said the 90-year-old veteran promoter could do "whatever he likes" with his money. Regarding his selfie with Kinahan? "A picture doesn’t mean I am a criminal." Addressing the whole fuss? "It’s got [nothing] to do with me."
The controversy is unlikely to have any negative impact on interest in the fight, in which Whyte — who lost to Anthony Joshua in 2015 and Alexander Povetkin in 2020 — will be hoping to pull off a major upset.
Boxing’s seamier side has long-held part of the appeal for some of the fan base, forming a kind of guilty pleasure. Likewise, dating back more than a hundred years, the chance to be associated with the hardest men in sports (and, in times gone by, to manipulate fights for gambling profit) has been irresistible for numerous crime figures.
"There is a long history of boxing and the underworld and if we are being honest, it doesn’t turn people off at all," USA TODAY Sports boxing writer Lance Pugmire told me. "It is a gritty sport where part of the glamour is associated with the danger – both of the fights themselves and, occasionally, the people involved."
This time, there was no need to artificially generate buzz about the fight, because the Kinahan saga means it is already on everyone’s lips. Whyte didn’t bother showing for Wednesday’s media activities, but it didn’t really matter. He’s the B-side in this, though he will still claim $7.1 million to Fury’s $28 million.
The A-side is Fury, although in this case he’s more like the A-minus side. For the true star of the show, as unsavory and indicting as it might be, is the controversy. This is boxing, where anyone, anything, and even any criminal figure or government entity, can get drawn into the hype.
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
