Tyson Fury is no longer with MTK Global. The promotional company ceased operations in April 2022 due to its ties with Daniel Kinahan.
In the same month, the US Government announced a reward of $5 Million for the arrest of Daniel Kinahan. MTK Global immediately attempted to distance themselves from Kinahan but boxing fans remained unconvinced. CEO of MTK Bob Yalen resigned from his position due to the pressures he was facing.
Then, on April 20, MTK released a statement stating that they will close down at the end of the month.
The MTK statement read:
"As a business we have faced unprecedented levels of unfair scrutiny and criticism since the sanctioning by the US Government of Daniel Joseph Kinahan. It is a matter of public record that Mr Kinahan's involvement in MTK ceased in 2017, and despite repeated reassurances in this regard, unfounded allegations about his ongoing association with us and our fighters persist. Since leading promoters have now informed us that they will be severing all ties with MTK and will no longer work with our fighters, we have taken the difficult decision to cease operations at the end of this month.”
Unfortunately for Tyson Fury, the drama with MTK occurred during the build-up to his fight with Dillian Whyte. Fury vs. Whyte took place only three days after MTK put out that statement. During press conferences and events with the media, Fury and his team refused to answer questions about MTK and Daniel Kinahan.
The fiasco did not however distract Tyson Fury in the ring. 'The Gypsy King' scored an impressive TKO victory against Dillian Whyte. After the fight, Fury announced his retirement from the sport of boxing.
Tyson Fury has credited Daniel Kinahan and MTK for his return to boxing
Since returning to boxing in 2018, Fury has maintained that Kinahan was pivotal to him coming back. Before Tyson Fury initially left boxing due to his mental health battles, he was signed with Mick Hennessy.
Fury joined up with MTK and Kinahan and they helped him plot a return to the sport. The return ended with him becoming WBC World Heavyweight Champion and selling out stadiums.
According to Fury, Kinahan had faith in him when others did not. Fury was 28 stone and had legal issues that were stopping him from coming back from boxing. One of them was a doping charge from the British Boxing Board of Control. Kinahan helped Fury deal with his issues and gave him the platform to return to boxing. Fury was even rumored to allegedly call for Kinahan to be made Prime Minister.
Fury would regularly refer to Kinahan as his advisor. Fury would also post on social media dressed up in MTK branded clothing, advertising the company. When other high-profile fighters like Josh Taylor joined up with MTK, Tyson Fury welcomed them.
Watch Fury welcome Josh Taylor:
In recent times, those links to Kinahan and the MTK have reportedly led to Fury being denied entry into the United States. Over 600 people have been included on a no-fly list by the US government due to their links with Daniel Kinahan.