Boxed in Daniel Kinahan's message to the world of boxing is that he is above criticism and scrutiny

Daniel Kinahan is posturing again with press statements, pictures and propaganda from an army of boxers under his control.

And now he is teeing up for a 'world exclusive' interview with podcaster James English, whose popular YouTube show has featured chats with a host of MTK boxers, many of whom have taken the opportunity to praise the drug boss.

The narrative will be one of a victim - an ordinary man trying to continue in his universe of legitimate business while being constantly castigated by a lowly media in his home country of Ireland where, he will claim, police and press work hand in glove with his enemies.

The same tall tale has already played out in an online book, a movie and from the mouths of his supporters, who claim to know of a vast conspiracy from the very heart of the Irish political system to bring him down.

His message to the world of boxing will be that he is untouchable, Teflon, above all criticism and scrutiny - a shining light for the sport with only the boxers' interest at heart.

He has already wheeled out stars of the sport including Tyson Fury, Sunny Edwards, Jono Carroll and Darren Till in seemingly random moments of comradeship. None of the boxers working with Kinahan have any involvement in criminality.

Kinahan has insisted he wants to play a part in 'safeguarding' the future of boxing and has been referred to as the 'ambassador'.

But behind the forced smile for the cameras, the ridiculous statements claiming he supports the exposure of corrupt practices in sport, and his ongoing insistence that he is a legitimate businessman, lies a narcissistic dictator who has bitten off far more than he can chew.

Just like Russian President Vladimir Putin and his total break from reality, Daniel Kinahan is also occupying an increasingly despotic mindset.

He is paranoid in the extreme - and he has every reason to be, because he is teetering on top of a house of cards that is about to fall.

Kinahan sits atop an enormous money-laundering and drug empire and holds power over the sport of boxing like it is his very own game of chess.

Just how much Kinahan has infiltrated the fight game was never more evident than this week's controversy over the Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall fight.

Taylor was declared the victor and allowed to keep his belts, despite the fact that Catterall was the clear winner. A British Boxing Board of Control investigation is now under way after outrage from fans, fighters and sports personalities from across the world.

But at the heart of the dispute is the looming and overarching figure of Kinahan, who advises both Taylor and Catterall and who, it was claimed this week, organised their fight.

Taylor has previously said that Kinahan brokered his high-profile fight last year with Jose Ramirez and landed him a deal with Top Rank promoters, gushing: "He's a great advisor and doing great things for the sport."

Catterall, in an interview on the Fight Disciples podcast, said Kinahan began advising him after the Taylor and Ramirez fight and organised last weekend's clash with the Scot.

Kinahan has also got strong links with both fighters' trainers. Jamie Moore, who coaches Catterall, worked for MTK for years and was previously shot in Daniel Kinahan's Spanish villa in a case of mistaken identity.

Ben Davison, Taylor's man, has worked for MTK too, and was Tyson Fury's trainer before he signed up to Kinahan's Spanish-based boxing firm. Davison has credited Fury's comeback to Kinahan's midas touch.

The Fight Disciples podcast is where the latest controversy emerged from, when Nick Peet raged 'something is rotten' in boxing and questioned Kinahan's influence over the sport.

But as the week wore on and the podcast team delivered a statement direct from Kinahan saying he has 'nothing to hide', the focus switched to accusations of corruption within the British Board of Boxing Control and set the stage for the interview with the Dubai-based mob boss.

Interestingly, Fight Disciples were announced as part of the Talent Team of Probellum, a boxing company closely linked to Kinahan's former MTK outfit.

Kinahan hasn't entered Europe since he moved to Dubai in 2016 just before his gym, then named MGM, was raided by police in Spain's Puerto Banus.

At the same time James Quinn, his childhood friend, was arrested and charged with the murder of Gary Hutch.

Quinn was convicted and is serving a lengthy sentence in Spain, but Kinahan embarked on two careers in the United Arab Emirates.

The first, as detailed by the DEA in documents to their counterparts in law enforcement in Europe, was as a key player in a so called cocaine 'Super Cartel'. The second is as a powerbroker in boxing who has stepped in and out of the limelight ever since.

Up until 2021, repeated statements - one made to the High Court at the Old Bailey - were issued by Scots tanning tycoon Sandra Vaughan that she bought MGM, renamed it MTK, and owned it outright with nothing to do with Daniel Kinahan.

Tyson Fury made a video selfie thanking Kinahan for brokering the biggest bout in boxing history, yet to happen, between the heavyweight and Anthony Joshua.

All the while, big corporates like Sky and BT Sport have tried to distance themselves from Kinahan despite his push centre stage.

 

In the UK, Sky have signed a four-year contract with the fast-growing company Boxxer, who in turn has strong links with MTK and has even signed up their star female Tasha Jonas.

Probellum has grown at an even faster rate that MTK ever did.

Since its inception last year, it has signed countless fighters, backroom managers and is even advertising for its own journalists.

On St Patrick's Day it is planning a boxing extravaganza in Dubai, with an overall 'Irish theme'.

Among the stars of the show is British Champion Sunny Edwards, an MTK fighter now with Probellum, who has made bizarre comments about the Hutch and Kinahan feud on his Twitter account and who announced: "Me and Daniel are friends since I was 18."

Kinahan has posed for the camera with Probellum talent executive Sam Jones, who tweeted: "Always good seeing my friend Daniel. Great advice as always and brilliant for the sport."