Eddie Hearn does not believe that the BBC Panorama documentary about Daniel Kinahan has made any difference to the world of boxing.
The episode entitled “Boxing and the Mob” referred to Kinahan as “a suspected Mob boss”, connected him drug dealing, gun running, money laundering and a string of killings, and focused on his links to Tyson Fury and MTK Global. Kinahan has always denied that he is involved in criminal activity.
Hearn was mentioned in the documentary too, for his role in the negotiations for a fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua, Fury having given credit to Kinahan for negotiating the deal for the fight.
But Hearn says exposing Kinahan’s links to a wide audience has not had any impact on his business and he says that no television company or sponsor has spoken to him about it.
“My world hasn’t [changed],” Hearn said. “That news broke to the boxing world quite a long time ago. I think it reached a bigger audience than the normal for boxing.
“For me, business as usual. We are so focused on the schedule and making the fights. From 13 February we have a show every week until the last one we are planning which is 8 May.”
Despite Fury’s link to Kinahan, Hearn does not believe that will have an effect on interest in a Fury-Joshua fight, despite some urging television companies and potential venues to distance themselves from i.
“[There has been] no impact,” Hearn said. “The fight is much bigger. It’s so big it will be the only thing discussed in my opinion among the fans. Whether that’s the same for the media I don’t know.
“But no impact on the fight at all. Right now, the emails and phone calls are with Bob Arum and Top Rank and Tyson Fury’s Team. He’s within his rights to appoint whoever he wants [to represent him].”
Ron Lewis is a senior writer for Boxing Scene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 – covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.