Cartel boss Daniel Kinahan poses with boxing promoter who survived assassination

But hanging around with German-Turk boxing promoter Ahmet Öner is unlikely to help Kinahan's campaign to 'sports-wash' his reputation.

Öner, who referred to Kinahan as a "brother", has a reputation for making threats and has criminal convictions for violence in Germany.

He was shot in the leg in 2009 in an attack described at the time as an assassination attempt.

The foul-mouthed former boxing champ posted the photo of himself with thumbs up and an arm around Daniel Kinahan at a hotel in Dubai.

Öner captioned the pic: "Finally we met and agreed my partner and brother #danielkinahan."

His happy grin in the photo contrasts sharply with his performance at a press conference in 2017 before one of Öner's fighters took on Chris Eubank Jr in Germany.

In a bizarre rant, he shouted at a member of Eubank's entourage: "You son of a b****, I f*** your wife in your bed!"

He totally lost the plot at the event ahead of Eubank Jnr's World Boxing Super Series clash with Avni Yildirim.

Öner took offence at a man standing to the side of the podium where the fighters and managers were sitting for the pre-fight press conference.

He had already branded Eubank "arrogant" before aggressively shaping up to the man, at one point pressing his forehead against him.

In videos of the press conference, which are still online, he is heard shouting: "You're a f***ing piece of sh**, a son of a b**** ... you fight me you c***."

Eubank and Yildirim sat quietly throughout the fracas before Öner was pulled away and finally took his seat alongside his fighter.

While British fight fans may have been taken aback by Öner's aggression and vile verbal onslaught, it would have been no surprise to German boxing supporters.

In 2011, after one of his fighters was beaten by Vitali Klitschko, Öner let loose a verbal barrage at the Ukrainian's German manager Bernd Bönte.

Der Spiegel reported how Öner said: "Bernd, I swear to you, I'll kill you" and had to be held back by three security men.

A few days later he apologised, although he didn't mention Bönte by name: "I let myself be carried away to an action that wasn't right, the action was unnecessary, I over-reacted, I'm sorry."

The same newspaper reported that Öner was previously given a 22-month suspended prison sentence and was fined €120,000 at a court in Hamburg.

The boxing promoter was charged with 16 offences, including assault, extortion, coercion, insults and resisting law enforcement officers.

It was the third time Öner had been given a suspended prison sentence.

The trial judge accepted as mitigation that he was getting psychotherapy to help him control his anger.

According to Der Spiegel, after being told to pay the fine at €3,500 a month over three years he said: "The fine doesn't hurt me."

The year before his conviction Öner suffered a gunshot wound in his left thigh.

It was reported at the time how two men ambushed him late one evening in the Hamburg district of Borgfelde, firing three shots at him

Öner, accompanied by his driver and a business partner, had just left an office when the assailants opened fire.

One bullet hit Öner in the leg while the other men escaped unscathed.

On his company website he later described it as an "assassination attempt".

Posing with Daniel Kinahan, named in the High Court as being in control of a drugs cartel, is unlikely to help his reputation among sports fans around the world.

Kinahan has made a point of appearing in photos with well-known fighters - none of whom are involved in crime - in recent months in a bid to build an alternative reputation to that of a drugs cartel leader.

Earlier this month he stood grinning for the camera, pointing his finger alongside heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who is not involved in crime.

In another photo Kinahan is seen pointing to a 'No Drugs' slogan on a t-shirt with fighter Sunny Edwards.

The week before that he was photographed with Liverpool fighter Darren Till on a beach.