Kinahan plan for summit of boxing chiefs
‘Groundbreaking’ conference set for Bahrain
DUBLIN gangster Daniel Kinahan is promoting a “truly groundbreaking” international boxing conference in Bahrain in the autumn.
Kinahan, who is a suspected leader of the multi-million euro organised crime group behind execution-style murders and drug trafficking, hailed the conference as an event that will “capture the attention of boxing fans around the world”.
The conference is Kinahan’s latest step on the road to reinvention as the legitimate global sports promoter he wants to be. He was appointed “special adviser” to a boxing company founded by a member of the Bahrain royal family earlier this month.
In a press release issued last Tuesday by MTK Global, the boxing agency he co-founded, Kinahan is quoted as saying: “For years, the thought of getting all the world leaders in boxing into one room together would have been dismissed as fantasy. But the major players see the potential for growth within our industry and understand that the sky is the limit when different parties co-operate and collaborate.”
He continued that the conference will “realise a dream of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa while leaving a legacy for Bahrain”.
According to the press release, the “unprecedented” conference will see Bahrain “host its first ever world title contest, broadcast live to the US, UK and around the world”.
The gangster’s latest attempt to reinvent himself as a sports promoter has captured the attention of security forces, who have been monitoring his progress closely since he started raising his sports profile last month.
Gardai believe Kinahan has been planning a heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua which he is trying to bring to the Middle East.
One security source said cleaning up his image is essential to attracting sponsors and broadcasters to the event.
His conspicuous rebranding has been going on for months. He was publicly endorsed by senior figures in boxing, including the American lawyer and boxing promoter Bob Arum, who praised Kinahan as “one of my favourite guys”.
A slick short film surfaced on YouTube that attempts to rewrite the history of the Regency Hotel gun attack. Daniel Kinahan was the target of the infamous attack which triggered the Kinahan gang’s murderous feud with the Hutch gang.
Then, two weeks ago, MTK
Global, a boxing management company originally founded by Kinahan, announced a partnership deal with KHK Sports, a company founded by a member of the Bahrain royal family. Daniel Kinahan was quoted in the press release as a “special adviser” to KHK Sports.
Last Tuesday, another press release was posted on MTK Global’s website announcing a boxing conference to take place this autumn as its first joint project with KHK.
The release promises the “biggest partnership in combat sports to invite all major boxing power-brokers to an unprecedented summit in the Kingdom of Bahrain”.
It continues that “the pioneering conference will see industry leaders unite in a desire to take the sport of boxing to the next level”.
KHK Sports is controlled by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and promotes boxing and MMA.
Daniel Kinahan is the son of Christy Kinahan, the Dubliner who built an organised crime and drug-trafficking cartel from the Costa del Sol in Spain.
The Kinahans moved to Dubai after coming under intense police scrutiny over the Hutch feud.
Last week, a judge accepted garda evidence that the Kinahan cartel was involved in international organised drugs and firearms dealing and “execution-style” murders. Mr Justice Tony Hunt made the comments when jailing a Kinahan “foot soldier”, Mark Capper, for helping to plan the murder of Patrick ‘Patsy’ Hutch.