Probellum joins MTK Global in distancing itself from Daniel Kinahan.
World boxing was rocked this week when the US government sanctioned Daniel Kinahan and offered a $5 million reward for information that leads to his arrest. In their announcement the US government named Kinahan as a leader of the Kinahan Organized Crime Group; an organization believed to be Ireland’s biggest trafficker of illegal drugs. The KOCG is also believed to be responsible for a number of killings in Ireland and Spain as part of the Hutch-Kinahan feud, which began in 2015.
Daniel Kinahan has been tied to the sport of boxing via his association with MTK Global, the promotion and management company that represents Tyson Fury, Billy Joe Saunders, Sunny Edwards, Lee McGregor and dozens of other pro boxers. MTK’s MMA division includes the UFC’s Darren Till, Aleksandar Rakic, Mounir Lazzez, Taila Santos among its growing roster.
Kinahan co-founded MTK. However, MTK claims he stopped working with the company in 2017—after suspected Hutch Gang gunmen stormed an MTK weigh-in show at Dublin’s Regency Hotel and tried to kill Kinahan. Kinahan fled to Dubai shortly after this incident.
MTK’s claims come despite its top talent, such as Fury and Till, consistently shouting out Kinahan as a friend and advisor.
This week MTK released a statement continuing to claim they are not associated with Kinahan and that they would respect US sanctions against him.
Upstart boxing and MMA promoter Probellum—which has been closely linked to MTK and Kinahan—has followed suit, releasing a statement on twitter. In their statement the company responds to claims from Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who earlier said he was cutting ties with both MTK and Probellum because of their association with Kinahan (ht Boxing Insider).
Arum, who also represents Tyson Fury, has dealt with Kinahan in the past. He’s also publicly lauded Kinahan for his “work and effort” to bring more boxing to the Middle East.
Probellum Official Statement: https://t.co/IPAsRF5aZo pic.twitter.com/rSYqeC9Ib4
— Probellum (@probellum) April 13, 2022
In their statement Probellum refuted Arum and said claims that Kinahan was a shareholder or owner of Probellum were “false and defamatory”. The company also stated that they have retained legal counsel in the US to ensure they comply with the sanctions which forbid any US individuals or companies from doing business with Kinahan.
The statement also included Probellum’s vow to “not have any business relationship or communication” with Kinahan.
Probellum’s believed association with Kinahan stems from the company’s relationship with MTK. A trademark for Probellum was filed in the UK by MTK Global in 2019 and some of Probellum’s executives and fighters have been pictured with Kinahan around Dubai.
Neither MTK or Probellum were named among the companies that were being sanctioned alongside Kinahan. However, Ducashew Consultancy was sanctioned. Online records show that Ducashew Consultancy is located in a suite directly adjacent to MTK’s Dubai office.