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MTK Global
FounderDaniel Kinahan

MTK Global (Mack The Knife Global)[1] was a boxing and mixed martial arts management and event promotions company founded by Irish crime boss Daniel Kinahan[2][3][4][5][6][7] and former professional boxer Matthew 'Mack the Knife' Macklin . Originally established in 2012 as Macklin's Gym Marbella (MGM), [8] the undertaking has attracted controversy due to its links to the Kinahan cartel and related allegations of money laundering,[9][10] and MTK Global announced its closure in April 2022.

Since its founding in 2012, MTK Global signed fighters such as Tyson Fury, Billy Joe Saunders, Josh Taylor, Carl Frampton, Terry Flanagan, Charlie Edwards, Rocky Fielding, Hughie Fury, Michael Conlan, Paddy Barnes, Jamel Herring, and Amansio Paraschiv.[11][12]

History

[edit]

MTK Global originally formed as MGM, an acronym for Macklins Gym Marbella,[13] starting out as a boxing gym in Marbella, Spain, in September 2012. In 2017, following lengthy talks with MGM Grand Resort and Casino over a naming dispute, MGM was renamed MTK Global.[14][15]

In December 2017, it was announced UFC star Darren Till had signed with the company, marking MTK Global's entry into MMA.[16][17]

In March 2019, it was announced that MTK Global and Top Rank had signed a multi-year deal that would see MTK's events broadcast exclusively on ESPN platforms in the United States. Top Rank founder Bob Arum said of the deal; "MTK Global manages a vast number of A-list fighters from around the globe. This deal will enable Top Rank, through the ESPN family of networks, to afford viewers in the United States the opportunity to see these great fighters perform."[18][19]

In November 2019, the company announced that it had entered into a partnership with The Academy of Sports and Education to form the MTK National Boxing and Education Academy. It was a program designed for 16–18 year olds aimed at enabling them to gain relevant qualifications relating to a career in the sport of boxing, such as professional boxer, physiotherapist, coach or in sports journalism. The first academy was opened in London in January 2020, with the goal to establish the program across the United Kingdom by September.[20]

In February 2021 the company announced that it had started a football agency and would manage professional soccer players.[21]

In April 2022 Bob Yalen resigned as CEO, citing 'the pressure of the last few weeks'.[22] It came just over a week after Daniel Kinahan became the subject of global sanctions by the United States Government.[22]

In April 2022 the company issued a press release announcing that it would cease operations by the end of the month.[23] The company claimed that it had faced "unprecedented levels of unfair scrutiny and criticism" after the United States government enacted worldwide sanctions against Daniel Kinahan.[23] MTK Global On Everipedia is an audiobook available on Amazon.com authored by Matthew E. O’Neil. The audiobook contains nine episodes and was published on August 2, 2021. The audiobook chronicles the careers of boxers managed by MTK Global such as Tyson Fury, Michael Conlan, Isaac Lowe, Sean McComb, Daniel Egbunike, Gary Cully, Steven Ward, Paul Butler, Arnold Barboza Jr., Paul Ryan, Akeem Ennis Brown, Lenny Fuller, and Mark Dickinson.[24]

The Golden Contract

[edit]
Main article: The Golden Contract

In July 2019, it was announced MTK Global would host a new boxing tournament, The Golden Contract. The tournament will be held across three weight-classes – featherweight, light-welterweight and light-heavyweight – with eight fighters competing in each division and the winners securing a two-year, five-fight contract with MTK Global.[25] The fights will be aired live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom[26] and streamed on ESPN+ in the United States.[27]

Controversies

[edit]

MTK Global has been criticised in the Irish media for its links to gangland figures, in particular, co-founder Daniel Kinahan, a reputed member Ireland's notorious Kinahan Cartel.[28][29][1][30][31]

On 5 February 2016, an alleged associate of the Kinahan Cartel, David Byrne, was shot dead after armed men dressed as Gardaí stormed a boxing weigh-in held at the Regency Hotel in Dublin, Ireland, for an event promoted by MTK Global.[32]

In September 2016, Spanish police raided MGM Marbella in Puerto Banús as part of an international crackdown on the Kinahan Cartel's criminal activities, searching properties in both Spain and Ireland. One man, Jamie Quinn, said to have worked at the MGM Marbella gym, was arrested at a Spanish airport for the murder of Gary Hutch.[33][34][35]

Due to the criticisms, CEO Sandra Vaughan announced a boycott of Irish media in 2018.[36][37] In May 2020 MTK announced it had agreed a partnership with Kinahan, who had previously sold his share and distanced himself from the company. Following the announcement, it was widely reported that the Irish police believed the Kinahan Cartel planned to use MTK as a front for criminal activities.[38]

Summons served

[edit]

In December 2020 a racketeering summons was served to Kinahan, Golden Boy Promotions and MTK Global in the United Arab Emirates by US lawyers.[39][40] Boxing promoter Moses Heredia filed a civil cause of action over the signing of Joseph Diaz while he was under contract to Heredia Boxing Management (HBM).[39][40] He alleged that after Diaz won the world championship in 2020 MTK had offered him an advance of $100,000 (₡81,500) in breach of a five-year contract the boxer had signed with HBM.[39][40] HBM also claims that Kinahan and MTK are in breach of the RICO Act, which can be used in civil cases.[39][40] HBM alleges that Kinahan founded MTK Global as a "front business" to launder illicit proceeds from drug trafficking, and despite claims that Kinahan is no longer involved with the organisation, he is still "influencing and controlling" it.[39][40] Kinahan has to file a response with the United States District Court for the Central District of California or face judgement being entered against him by default.[39][40]

Notable boxers

[edit]
Boxer [41] Nationality Weight
Joshua Adewale England English Middleweight
David Brophy Scotland Scottish Super-middleweight
Akeem Ennis-Brown England English Light-welterweight
Hekkie Budler South Africa South African Light-flyweight
Hosea Burton England English Light-heavyweight
Iain Butcher Scotland Scottish Bantamweight
Chantelle Cameron England English Light-welterweight
Danny Carr England English Welterweight
Jono Carroll Republic of Ireland Irish Super-featherweight
Jack Catterall England English Light-welterweight
Michael Conlan Republic of Ireland Irish Featherweight
Ohara Davies England English Light-welterweight
TJ Doheny Republic of Ireland Irish Super-bantamweight
Steven Donnelly Northern Ireland Northern Irish Light-middleweight
Charlie Edwards England English Flyweight
Sunny Edwards England English Super-flyweight
Larry Ekundayo Nigeria Nigerian Welterweight
Rocky Fielding England English Super-middleweight
Terry Flanagan England English Light-welterweight
Carl Frampton Northern Ireland Northern Irish Featherweight
Hughie Fury England English Heavyweight
Tyson Fury England English Heavyweight
Jay Harris Wales Welsh Flyweight
Jamel Herring United States American Super-featherweight
Natasha Jonas England English Lightweight
David Oliver Joyce Republic of Ireland Irish Featherweight
Elhem Mekhaled France French Super-featherweight
Martin Murray England English Super-middleweight
Amansio Paraschiv Romania Romanian Middleweight
David Price England English Heavyweight
Billy Joe Saunders England English Super-middleweight
Andrew Selby Wales Welsh Flyweight
Liam Smith England English Light-welterweight
Josh Taylor Scotland Scottish Light-welterweight
Liam Walsh England English Lightweight
Muhammad Waseem Pakistan Pakistani Flyweight
Shakhobidin Zoirov Uzbekistan Uzbekistani Bantamweight

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Ewan MacKenna: Boxing to Daniel Kinahan is what football was to Pablo Escobar - and it's choking the sport in Ireland". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  2. ^ "Daniel Kinahan praised by MTK Global president Bob Yalen". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  3. ^ "TheJournal.ie - Boxing company co-founded by Daniel Kinahan to receive 'large up-front investment' after buyout". www.thejournal.ie. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  4. ^ Reynolds, Paul (18 May 2020). "Daniel Kinahan 'reinventing' himself as boxing promoter". RTÉ News. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Promoter Behind Fury-Joshua Deal Provokes Outrage in Ireland". The New York Times. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Government urged to pressure UAE to eject crime boss Daniel Kinahan". The Irish Times. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Irish Government to write to UK counterparts over Daniel Kinahan controversy". The Telegraph. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  8. ^ "MTK Global to Host Incredible Community Days to Celebrate Anniversary". MTK Global. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  9. ^ "Kinahan targeted in US court case alleging money laundering". The Irish Times. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Gardai investigate if mob boss Daniel Kinahan is laundering money through boxing". The Irish Daily Mirror. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Boxers". MTK Global. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  12. ^ "Unbeaten Amansio Paraschiv Joins MTK Global – Added to Sunday's MTK Card". MTK Global. 2020-10-15.
  13. ^ "Carl Frampton signs with firm whose gym was raided by gardai". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  14. ^ "Las Vegas casino giant forces boxing firm to change name | Evening Times". www.eveningtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  15. ^ O'Neill, Joe (2017-01-23). "Macklin's Gym Marbella to rebrand". Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  16. ^ "Darren Till Calls Out 'Irish Boy' Conor McGregor After Signing With Matthew Macklin's MTK Global – Pundit Arena". punditarena.com. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  17. ^ "MTK Global sign UFC star Darren Till". MTK Global. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  18. ^ "Top Rank reaches deal for MTK cards on ESPN". ESPN.com. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  19. ^ "Top Rank deal sees 30 MTK Global shows per year broadcast on ESPN". Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  20. ^ Lewis, Ron (2 February 2020). "MTK Global CEO Expects Big Things For New Academy". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  21. ^ Reynolds, Paul (2021-02-23). "MTK boxing firm establishes agency for soccer players". RTÉ News.
  22. ^ a b Hynes, Robert (2022-04-19). "Bob Yalen resigns as MTK CEO after 'pressure of last few weeks' following Daniel Kinahan sanctions". MSN. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  23. ^ a b "MTK Global will cease operations at the end of this month". The42. 2022-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  24. ^ O'Neil, Matthew E. (August 2, 2021). MTK Global On Everipedia. Audible. ISBN 9780000085719.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  25. ^ "MTK Announce Series Of 'Golden Contract' Tournaments". Boxing Social. 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  26. ^ "The Golden Contract tournament will be shown live on Sky Sports". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  27. ^ "What's the Golden Contract tournament, and who's in it?". ESPN.com. 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  28. ^ "Daniel Kinahan living in 'air-conditioned desert prison' as he's afraid to leave Dubai". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  29. ^ Reynolds, Paul (2019-08-03). "How the Kinahan crime gang were jailed". rte.ie.
  30. ^ "Kinahan gang member's shadow hangs over Irish boxing". www.irishtimes.com. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  31. ^ McDermott, Stephen (2017-03-22). "Katie Taylor's dad 'knew nothing' of new boxer's link to Kinahans". dublinlive. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  32. ^ "Regency Hotel shooting investigation collapses, sparking fears of more Kinahan-Hutch related violence". www.bloodyelbow.com. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  33. ^ Duggan, Joe (2016-09-14). "Man arrested over Gary Hutch murder as police raid MGM Marbella gym linked to Kinahan crime family". Olive Press News Spain. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  34. ^ "Guardia Civil raid MGM gym and arrest murder suspect". Planet Marbella. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  35. ^ Couzens, Gerard (2016-09-14). "VIDEO: Spanish police raid gym believed to be linked to Kinahan cartel". irishmirror. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  36. ^ "MTK Global announces total boycott of Irish media". www.rte.ie. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  37. ^ "MTK Global's Irish boxers not competing in Irish capital". 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  38. ^ Reynolds, Paul (21 May 2020). "Boxing firm MTK enters partnership with Daniel Kinahan". RTÉ.ie.
  39. ^ a b c d e f Carswell, Simon (30 December 2020). "Kinahan served with summons in US case taken by boxing manager". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  40. ^ a b c d e f Schiller, Robin; Foy, Ken. "US boxing chief sues Daniel Kinahan under crime laws". Irish Independent.
  41. ^ "Boxers". MTK Global. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
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