Tyson Fury appeared to say suspected gang lord Daniel Kinahan should be Ireland's prime minister — hours after apparently severing ties with him
- Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has reportedly severed his association with the boxing adviser Daniel Kinahan.
- 43-year-old Kinahan is also an alleged boss of a $1 billion drugs and weapons gang.
- Kinahan has no convictions and a representative of his declined to answer questions from Insider earlier this month.
- Hours after news broke of the apparent split between Fury and Kinahan, the boxer posted a photograph on Instagram suggesting the adviser should be Ireland's "PM" — likely short for Prime Minister.
- He also seemed to compare Kinahan to US President Donald Trump.
Tyson Fury said Daniel Kinahan should be "PM" — likely short for prime minister — just hours after apparently severing ties with the 43-year-old boxing adviser and reputed $1.1 billion drugs boss.
Fury is one of boxing's most technically-brilliant fighters, and an unbeaten heavyweight world champion.
But up until this week, Fury has been advised by Kinahan, a suspected international gangster who has been cited in Ireland's High Court as running the operations of a $1.1 billion gang.
Kinahan has no convictions and has never been charged with a crime, and a representative of his declined to answer questions from Insider earlier this month.
In a statement, the law firm Brandsmiths said Kinahan had been defamed by the press before, and was considering legal action against some media organizations.
One member of parliament in Britain, Stephen Farry, told Insider recently that he had written to the country's government to ask what can be done with regards to governance within the sport.
"Daniel Kinahan has been described by the Irish police, An Garda Siochana, in an affidavit to the Irish High Court as running the day to day operations of an international crime gang," Farry told us. "This is no ordinary businessman."
Farry's statement followed a video message from Fury in which he thanked Kinahan for his negotiating prowess in securing an apparent financial agreement with Anthony Joshua and Joshua's management, Matchroom Sport, over a prospective two-fight deal in the future.
There is no suggestion Fury, Joshua, or Matchroom are involved in any criminality.
"He [Kinahan] is not a fit and proper person to be involved in the promotion of professional sport, let alone a very high-profile event," Farry said.
Since then, The Telegraph reported Wednesday that Fury had parted ways with Kinahan and that his main negotiator going forward would be Bob Arum, the Top Rank founder and veteran boxing promoter.
"I've had a lot of conversations with Tyson and what we decided is that myself, Top Rank, and Tyson will do all negotiations for fights in the future," Arum told The Telegraph.
"Whether it's for Joshua, Wilder or anybody else."
He added: "We've talked with Dan, who Tyson and I both love and admire and respect, and he understands it's best the negotiations on Tyson's side be handled that way.
"He only wants the best for Tyson."
But hours after The Telegraph's story, Fury posted on Instagram apparent support for Kinahan to enter politics.
Alongside photographs of Fury, Kinahan, and the Irish flag, a caption read: "Like Donald" and "Dan for PM." Fury did not specify, but it is likely he meant US President Donald Trump, and that PM meant "prime minister."
You can see the post, which was published on Fury's Instagram story, below:
The British government says boxing should govern itself
Leo Varadkar, Ireland's Taoiseach — equivalent to the prime minister — made a call for those in sport to boycott any future Fury vs. Joshua match after Kinahan's involvement.
"It's not a decision for me but I think it would be entirely appropriate for sports organisations and media organisations to have nothing to do with this," Varadkar said, according to the Independent in Ireland.
"Maybe they don't know the facts or they don't know the truth but they need to know them. I wouldn't like to see them giving it any attention at all given the circumstances."
The UK politician Farry, a member of parliament for Northern Ireland's Alliance Party, requested the government to take action, but was given a reply which deferred responsibility to the sport and its broadcast partners.
"The arrangements for sporting competitions are a matter for the relevant sporting bodies, and it is up to broadcasters to make decisions about which events they wish to cover," the parliamentary under secretary of state for sport Nigel Huddlestone said in a statement which implies the sport of boxing should be able to govern itself.
Farry tweeted his disappointment earlier this week.
Regardless of any apparent split between Fury and Kinahan, the latter still has an advisory role to other athletes, like the British fighter Billy Joe Saunders and the UFC competitor Darren Till, both of whom are represented by the management firm MTK Global.
There is no suggestion that Saunders or Till are involved in any criminality.
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