Boxing refusing to confront unpalatable truth about Kinahan’s key role via IrishTimesSport
Boxing’s embarrassing determination to avoid confronting the unpalatable truth about its often tawdry business was laid bare on Thursday evening during a media conference call to publicise the world heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium on April 23rd.
Yet, on a Zoom call featuring up to a hundred journalists, not one question was put to Fury, or his promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren, about the damage done to boxing’s already battered reputation. All the media were muted until called and so there was no way of breaking the omerta of silence that engulfs boxing when it comes to discussing the deeply troubling influence of Kinahan.
Maurcio Sulaiman, the head of the World Boxing Council, lamented the fact that Kinahan was “a character who has been crossed out and labelled as a person linked to criminal groups, thus creating prejudice against a large part of the world boxing community”. Sulaiman defended Kinahan vigorously and stressed he “will have our full support in his quest to bring benefits to boxing.”