This fight could be over before it even began. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are the two most exciting heavyweights on the planet right now. First of all, Fury won the WBC title against Deontay Wilder in one of the best displays we’ve seen in recent years. He is also the lineal champion.
In short, Joshua holds all the remaining titles. If both men can keep their belts then by the time they meet it will be for a unification fight. But there’s just one big problem and his name is Daniel Kinahan. MTK Global, who represents Fury, was founded by the Irish gangland figure. Fury caused a furor when he thanked the drug lord on Twitter for helping to make the fight.
Since then, there has been outrage on social media because the Kinahan cartel are currently involved in a bloody war with the Hutch gang in Dublin and Spain. 20 people have murdered in the feud so far, which included the infamous Regency hotel shooting in 2016. The Irish government made its displeasure clear.
Left: Dublin city council worker Trevor O'Neill. Right: Homeless father of three Martin O'Rourke. Both completely innocent men murdered by Daniel Kinahan's gang in 2016. Enjoy your boxing match. https://t.co/JKgckU4L2w pic.twitter.com/dMFB7EIHrG
— Conor Gallagher (@ConorGallaghe_r) June 10, 2020
High Level
Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar says that legitimate media and sports promotions should not get involved with this fight. The death toll and effect of the drug war on Dublin is stark. It’s extraordinary how British media are failing to cover this as they choose to focus instead on Fury v Joshua.
Kinahan is unable to return to Ireland because there is a warrant out for his arrest. He currently resides in Dubai, as there is no extradition treaty between the UAE and Ireland. However, the Irish Times reported that the UAE are surprised by the allegations and that Kinahan is now in Bahrain.
“I think it would be entirely appropriate for sporting organizations and media organizations to have nothing to do with this,” said Varadkar in a government meeting. “Maybe they don’t know the facts or they don’t know the truth. But they need to know them, and I wouldn’t like to see them giving it any attention at all given the circumstances.”
It’s official FURY VS JOSUAR AGREED FOR NEXT YEAR, I got to smash @bronzebomber first then I’ll annihilate @anthonyfjoshua #WEARESPARTANS
MASSIVE THANKS TO DANIEL KINNERHAN FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN.🙏🏻👍🏻 god bless pic.twitter.com/18FfVKfCax
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) June 10, 2020
Bloody
So far 20 individuals have died in the drug war. It started in 2015 when a hitman allegedly shot Gary Hutch, the nephew of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, leader of the Hutch criminal enterprise. Since then the cost has been violent. The Kinahan gang has decimated its rivals, although it has also come at a cost. Several members are now living in the UAE because there are warrants for their arrest in Ireland.
This meant that his involvement in the recent match-making is all the more controversial. As you can see above, Fury tweeted his appreciation to the controversial gangland figure. MTK also represents UFC fighter Darren Till, who is close friends with Kinahan.
Crackdown
Ireland has some of the strictest anti-gun laws in the world. However, the Garda Síochana (Irish police) has recovered 122 firearms in the past year, including 74 handguns, 13 machine guns, seven assault rifles, eight shotguns, five rifles, and 5,300 rounds of ammunition. They’ve also retrieved almost $200 million worth of drugs since 2015.
Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll from Special Crime Operations said: “A priority for us will continue to remain the threat to life to individuals and we will continue to target those who trade in weapons and drugs.”
