Spanish gym with Kinahan connection is closed
THE Spanish base of a boxing company co-founded by gang boss Daniel Kinahan has been shut.
MTK Marbella, which launched as MGM (Macklin’s Gym Marbella) in 2013, was previously raided as part of a crackdown on the Kinahan cartel.
Yesterday the group announced it was shutting its doors, saying it “will not be reopening after the Covid-19 restrictions”.
“We want to thank everyone who has been a part of our family over the past eight years and shared in our incredible journey. Whilst the doors remain closed, the memories will last a lifetime,” MTK Marbella added in a statement.
It follows a major backlash against Kinahan after it emerged he was involved in organising a major boxing fight in the Middle East next year.
The group was co-founded by Kinahan and former Irish, British and European Middleweight
champion Matthew Macklin, who has no involvement in criminality.
In September 2016, the gym was searched by the Guardia Civil and visiting gardaí as part of a major international crackdown on the Kinahan gang.
Its name was changed in 2017 to MTK (Mack the Knife) after “lengthy discussions” with the MGM Casino and Resort Group in Las Vegas.
MTK has recently attempted to distance itself from Kinahan, saying his brief involvement with the group ended prior to 2017.
However, last month MTK Global announced a partnership with Middle East company KHK Sports who hired Kinahan as a special adviser days earlier. His role with the company has since been terminated after a backlash of criticism when it emerged that he played a central role in talks to facilitate the fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Government TD Neale Richmond hit out at Kinahan’s efforts to whitewash his links to organised crime, describing Kinahan as an “evil criminal” who should not be allowed “run for cover with the protection of the international boxing community”.