Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond has welcomed reports that World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury will cut ties with long-time advisor Daniel Kinahan.
"This is an extremely welcome development but far from the end of this saga. We need to have full clarity that Daniel Kinahan will have no involvement at all in this fight and that real efforts are being made to exclude him from the world of boxing," he told OTB Sports.
Feb 22, 2020; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury box during their WBC heavyweight title bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Fury won via seventh round TKO. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA"Daniel Kinahan cannot continue to use boxing as a tool to rehabilitate his image," he continued.
Daniel Kinahan, who has never been convicted of a crime, is believed to have been advising Tyson Fury since his decision to make a return to boxing in 2018.
He was identified in the Irish High Court as being the head of the organised criminal gang that bears his surname and as being involved in drugs and weapons smuggling on a global scale, Kinahan's association with Fury has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks.
UK's Boxer Tyson Fury makes his grand entrance to fight Tom Schwarz at MGM Grand Garden Arena on June 15, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Credit Image: © Gene Blevins/ZUMA Wire)The Fine Gael representative also called for more information regarding Kinahan's future role in the sport:
"We also need to see clarity from MTK of what exact role Daniel Kinahan has with them. It's time other boxers like Billy Joe Saunders dropped Daniel Kinahan and distanced themselves from him."
Kinahan was one of the founders of the promotion but current-MTK Global CEO Sandra Vaughan says he has had no involvement with the company since she purchased it in 2017.
Last month, she addressed the issue again, stating that while Daniel Kinahan is an advisor to many MTK fighters, he has no connection with the company.
Pressure on Daniel Kinahan
TD Neale Richmond praised the exposure given to Kinahan's proposed involvement in the Tyson vs Joshua fight in recent weeks:
"We have seen our brave journalists lead the charge in exposing Daniel Kinahan for who he is, there is much more work to be done though."
Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury during the WBC Heavyweight Championship bout at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday December 1, 2018. See PA story BOXING Los Angeles. Photo credit should read: Lionel Hahn/PA WireIn an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Bob Arum, the owner of Top Rank and a man who described Daniel Kinahan as "an honourable man" in a recent interview with Newstalk, explained the reason for today's change.
"Over the weekend I’ve had a lot of conversations with Tyson Fury and what we both decided is that myself, Top Rank and Fury will do all negotiations for fights in the future," he explained.
Neale Richmond joined OTB AM to react to the initial news of Kinahan's involvement in the fight.
"Whether it’s for Joshua or Wilder or anybody else. We’ve informed Eddie Hearn about that. He knows where to go for the negotiations. Tyson and I have had long negotiations about it. That’s the way it’s going to be.
"This will eliminate a lot of confusion. We’ve talked with Dan, who Tyson and I both love and admire and respect, and he understands that it's best the negotiations on Tyson’s side be handled that way.
"Both Tyson and I have each discussed this with Dan and he is amenable and satisfied and wished us luck. He only wants the best for Tyson Fury."
This decision follows news that a Bahrain-based sports management company that had had links with Kinahan similarly ended that arrangement little over one week ago.
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