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Eddie Hearn ‘not aware’ of reports that Daniel Kinahan is still involved in boxing

‘No, no absolutely not. I don’t follow a lot of what’s said on Twitter, in all honesty’

Yesterday at 19:32

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Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has said he is “not aware” of reports that Irish crime boss Daniel Kinahan is still involved in the sport.

The high-profile agent who brought the Katie Taylor fight to Dublin, was asked about Kinahan and persistent suggestions that he is still working behind the scenes, despite his official labeling as a wanted international criminal.

An interviewer for Boxing King media tells Hearn in short video posted on Facebook about how he wants to “speak to you about a couple of matters outside boxing”.

“We’ve seen in the last couple of days articles resurfacing about Daniel Kinahan and his involvement in boxing,” the interviewer says.

“I think there’s been some link towards, you know, people are saying is he still involved. Obviously you deal with events so I want to ask you, obviously, you’re a promoter, are you aware of anything like that?

Hearn replies that: “No, no absolutely not. I don’t follow a lot of what’s said on Twitter, in all honesty. But no, (I’m) not aware of that in the slightest.”

In one recent report it was suggested that there is nothing to stop “the next Daniel Kinahan” from becoming involved in the world of boxing, even though authorities are now more watchful.

In an opinion piece published by Boxing News (BN), the respected sports writer Matt Christie stated that a failure of boxing authorities – namely commissions and governing bodies – to create a suitable barrier for entry enabled Kinahan to become a major power figure in the sport.

And even though the Irish mob boss is now effectively on the run, 14 months after he was hit by sanctions by the US Treasury, he still remains a presence behind the scenes, according to Christie.

Referring to reports of heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk signing a promotional deal with Skills Challenge Entertainment (SCEE) in Saudi Arabia that emerged last weekend, Christie said it didn’t take long for some on social media “to add Daniel Kinahan’s name to the discussion”.

When asked directly if Kinahan was involved in the talks, Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk said he had no role in negotiations.

“I can re-assure everyone that this company is run on their own,” he said.

Christie writes that there is no evidence to prove that Kinahan is involved in Saudi boxing, “at least not anymore”.

“Lessons were learned by SCEE the moment Kinahan (officially) became one of the world’s most wanted men in April last year. At that point in time, BN understands, Kinahan’s involvement ceased.”

Last month, we revealed that the gardaí and their international partners believe Daniel Kinahan, his father and brother have set up shop in Iran after fleeing Dubai.

The Kinahans no longer felt safe in their desert bolt hole after the US authorities announced a multi-million-dollar reward last year for the arrest of the three.

Iranians see the Kinahans as friends because they both have a common enemy.

Pressure from the Americans resulted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities freezing the Kinahans’ assets and agreeing to extradite some of their associates to face murder and drugs charges.

However, Christie pointed out that the Saudis were not the only ones who had dealings with Kinahan in the past.

He said it was difficult to pinpoint how many promotional groups Kinahan hasn’t worked closely alongside in recent years.

“Boxing News has been told by multiple sources that he bankrolled some major events in Britain during the two-year pandemic,” Christie claimed. “Fights that otherwise could not have possibly occurred in such a restrictive economic environment.”

Christie states that even the few who managed to distance themselves from Kinahan, will have found it harder to not work with a boxer, trainer, promoter, manager, or advisor – who at not, at some point, had dealings with him, particularly as his influence grew significantly at the start of 2020.

“And that’s perhaps why those in the sport who presumed that Kinahan’s involvement in boxing would come to an end the moment he was sanctioned were sorely mistaken,” Christie adds.

Christie quotes our own Nicola Tallant, the Investigations Editor of Sunday World, who told BN. “He’s in Dubai and he’s incapable of leaving and, from my information from people pretty close to him, he’s going to bed every night wondering if tomorrow morning is the day they knock on the door.

“He’s [Kinahan’s] like a guy who’s been thrown off the side of the ship with one hand still clinging on. He’s so determined about boxing but it’s undoubted that his day is coming.

“We don’t fully understand the nuances that exist with the United Arab Emirates but there is nobody in the history of organised crime who has escaped when their face is on a wanted poster. Not terrorists, nobody. He’s done for and he knows it.”

Consequently, Christie writes, Tallant is reluctant to call Kinahan a “free man” as he lives in “a prison of sorts, but one where he is undoubtedly able to mix with people in boxing and do some business”.

“What’s infuriating some is that those who championed Kinahan, only to go all sheepish last year, are now not being forced to lie in beds of their own making. Instead, they flaunt the mansions his money helped to build,” Christie adds.

“There’s a lot of people within boxing who are waiting for him to be arrested and then their problem is taken off their hands,” Tallant said. “I think that people are really afraid of him, they’re terrified of him and with good reason. He’s capable of anything so when he’s behind bars, be that in Ireland or the US, I think it would solve a lot of people’s problems.”

The problems are not purely of Daniel Kinahan’s making,” Christie writes. “They speak of a failure from boxing authorities – namely commissions and governing bodies – to create a suitable barrier for entry. Tallant says it best: ‘He was let in the door and allowed to put his feet up’.”

“The gates are still open. There is nothing to stop the next Daniel Kinahan strolling in and making himself at home, it’s true. But even though boxing authorities are unable or unwilling to keep track, Tallant is sure that the real authorities have been watching very carefully.”

Tallant also would not be surprised to see some key figures in boxing soon face arrest. “It can be a slow process and you feel like they’ve got away with it,” she said. “But the police are not going to let them walk away.”