Thursday, February 03, 2022
No Holds Barred: Kieran Cunningham on Bloody Sunday, the Mob and Irish Boxing, and Sports-Washing, on The WAAR Room with Chris Baldwin and Malissa Smith
Our guest was Kieran Cunningham, the Chief Sports Writer and Current Affairs Columnist at the Irish Daily Star.
We spoke with him by Zoom Sunday, January 30, the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday -- a bloody massacre when British soldiers opened fire killing 13 unarmed peaceful protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland.
Cunningham explained the significance of Bloody Sunday and its impact on the Irish boxing community, including retired boxer John Duddy, whose uncle, Jackie Duddy, a promising young amateur fighter, was the first person murdered.
As a sports writer, Cunningham is perhaps best known for his in-depth reporting on the impact of criminal gangs on boxing in the Republic of Ireland, including alleged drug kingpin Daniel Kinahan. Cunningham provided an in-depth analysis on the tentacles from MTK Global that have encroached on the integrity of the sport. He also discussed the impact of "sports-washing" in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia and Dubai, and how the absence of an international professional boxing governance organization continues to undermine the sport.
Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content.
Now you can also support our independent, No Holds Barred journalism by purchasing items such as T-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, mugs, pillows, masks, and even mini-skirts at the new No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman shop on Redbubble. (It has also been recommended to me that people choose sizes on the large side, as some items may run small.) You can browse all the items for sale and then place an order here.
You can play or download No Holds Barred on Anchor, Podomatic, Patreon, and the Internet Archive. If one link does not work, please try another.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
Labels: Bloody Sunday, boxing, Chris Baldwin, Eddie Goldman, Girlboxing, Ireland, Kieran Cunningham, Malissa Smith, No Holds Barred, organized crime, sports-washing, the mob, WAAR Room, WAAR Sports
Monday, October 18, 2021
No Holds Barred: Nicola Tallant on Kinahan, the Mob, and Boxing, on the WAAR Room with Chris Baldwin and Malissa Smith
While many are still discussing Tyson Fury's defense of his WBC heavyweight belt, less attention is being paid, especially in the boxing media, to the man whom he said is his advisor, Daniel Kinahan. According to promoter Bob Arum, Kinahan is also an advisor to the unbeaten WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford, the unbeaten and undisputed 140-pound champ Josh Taylor, and WBO super featherweight champ Jamel Herring. Kinahan was co-founder of what is now the management company MTK Global, although officially it is claimed that he is no longer formally a part of it. Among MTK Global's many dozens of fighters is the unbeaten WBO middleweight champ Savannah Marshall, who appears headed to a showdown next year with two-division unbeaten champion Claressa Shields.
So who is this boxing powerbroker, Daniel Kinahan? According to the High Court of Ireland, he is a senior figure in organized crime on a global scale and head of the Kinahan organized crime group. Kinahan is now based in Dubai.
To find out more about Kinahan, including his role in boxing, we spoke with one of the world's leading authorities on the crime world and especially Irish organized crime, Nicola Tallant. She is the Investigations Editor for the Sunday World of Ireland, hosts and produces the Crime World podcast, and is author of the wonderful new book, "Clash of the Clans: The Rise of the Irish Narcos and Boxing's Dirty Secret".
We spoke with her Sunday, October 17.
All this is part of our in-depth coverage of the corrupt world of boxing and sports governance in general.
Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content.
Now you can also support our independent, No Holds Barred journalism by purchasing items such as T-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, mugs, pillows, masks, and even mini-skirts at the new No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman shop on Redbubble. (It has also been recommended to me that people choose sizes on the large side, as some items may run small.) You can browse all the items for sale and then place an order here.
You can play or download No Holds Barred on Anchor, Podomatic, and the Internet Archive. If one link does not work, please try another.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is sponsored by:
LenneHardt.com, the home of Lenne Hardt, the legendary MMA and sports announcer, voice actor, singer, actress, and comedienne. Lenne is also known for her jazz vocals with her Lenne Hardt Jazz Cabaret Band. For more information, to book her, or to order a custom message from her, go to LenneHardt.com.
Skullz Fight Shop, home of the Skullz Double-End Bag, the perfect punching bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve speed, distance, and timing skills. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. Skullz Fight Shop - Advancing combat sports equipment for the next generation of fighters. For more information, go to https://skullzfightshop.com.
Adolphina Studios. Original art prints and handcrafted fine jewelry. For more information, go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/AdolphinaStudios.
Labels: boxing, Chris Baldwin, Clash of the Clans, Daniel Kinahan, Eddie Goldman, Girlboxing, Ireland, Irish, Malissa Smith, mob, Nicola Tallant, No Holds Barred, organized crime, WAAR Room, WAAR Sports
Wednesday, July 01, 2020
No Holds Barred: Declan Hill on the Kinahan Gang and Boxing's Latest Scandal
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with investigative journalist, academic, consultant, and expert on match-fixing and corruption in international sports, Declan Hill.
He is also an associate professor in the Investigations Department at the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven in New Haven, Connecticut.
We spoke with him by phone Tuesday.
The news broke in June that Daniel Kinahan would be playing a key role in arranging a potential heavyweight title unification fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, the two top fighters in the division and holders between them of all the major belts. But not many outside Kinahan's native Ireland knew who he was or his history.
Soon stories appeared in the Irish media explaining that Kinahan, now based in Dubai, headed a notorious international gang which engaged in drug and arms smuggling. Officials from the then-Irish prime minister to members of rival Irish political parties all condemned his attempt to rebrand himself as simply a boxing promoter or advisor. Many in the U.K. media as well as a few in the boxing media then reported on this story. Even so, Kinahan continued to receive praise from Tyson Fury, Bob Arum, and other prominent boxing people. While Kinahan has since been said to be withdrawing from publicly engaging in boxing negotiations, his ties to many fighters remain, at best, unclear.
"This story is like something out of Hollywood, and I have absolutely no doubt that there will be a movie made of this at some point," said Declan Hill.
"This is the Kinahan Gang and it's their long-standing blood feud with the Hutch Gang."
We discussed in depth the Irish government's long battle against these feuding drug gangs, the role of the media in this story, how this fits in with boxing's long history of association with organized crime, and much, much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.
Also, No Holds Barred is available at Apple Podcasts.
No Holds Barred is also available on Spotify.
You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.
The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is sponsored by:
LenneHardt.com, the home of Lenne Hardt, the legendary MMA and sports announcer, voice actor, singer, actress, and comedienne. Lenne is also known for her jazz vocals with her Lenne Hardt Jazz Cabaret Band. For more information, to book her, or to order a custom message from her, go to LenneHardt.com.
Skullz Combat Sports Equipment, creator of the patented Skullz Double-End Bag, is the perfect punching bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve speed, distance, and timing skills. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. Skullz Combat Sports Equipment - Advancing combat sports equipment for the next generation of fighters. For more information, go to https://instagram.com/skullzcombatsports and https://facebook.com/skullzcombatsports.
Adolphina Studios. Original art prints and handcrafted fine jewelry. For more information, go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/AdolphinaStudios.
Labels: boxing, Daniel Kinahan, Declan Hill, Eddie Goldman, Ireland, No Holds Barred, organized crime, Tyson Fury
