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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Kieran Cunningham

Shadow Boxing: Did the sport knowingly let Daniel Kinahan to the top of the game?

Sportswashing is the hottest of topics - and it's become an issue everywhere from golf to Formula One to soccer.

There's an argument that boxing invented sportswashing, and it all goes back to Frankie Carbo - maybe the most significant figure in the rise of the pro game.

He was described by Budd Schulberg - the writer of Oscar winner 'On The Waterfront' - as ''the Mob's unofficial Commissioner for Boxing''.

READ MORE: Shadow Boxing: How Daniel Kinahan has undermined a sport so crucial to Irish life

But Carbo was eventually sentenced to 25 years in prison, and it was his involvement in boxing corruption that brought him to justice.

Many within boxing speak highly of Daniel Kinahan because, in a sport where boxers are often treated badly, there is evidence that he looked after them well.

So there are fighters, trainers, managers and media people in the boxing game who praise Kinahan regularly.

Really, they were doing their bit to sportswash Kinahan's reputation.

Episode three of the Shadow Boxing podcast focuses on Kinahan's rise, how the faulty structures of boxing facilitated his ascent, and what it says about the sport.

There is a case to be made for there being a purity to amateur boxing - even allowing for the judging scandals at major competitions.

At amateur level, the focus is on skill and movement and ring-craft rather than power.

Pro boxing is a dangerous game and no cowards step through the ropes.

The dangers are so great that the risks are largely taken for one reason only - money. That pursuit of money has led to all sorts of rules being broken or bent over the years.

Most boxing people, including fans, take it in their stride. They may love their sport but are cynical about it because it's the most cynical of sports.

We talk to boxing historian Patrick Connor, broadcaster Ger Gilroy, boxing manager and attorney Kurt Emhoff, crime journalist Michael O'Toole and German investigative reporter David Klaubert and Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond about the factors that led boxing to embrace Kinahan, and the attempts to bring him to justice.

One recent conversation with one of the most prominent figures in boxing contained one startling line.

I was told that Kinahan is far more influential than many realise, that he pulls the strings at all levels, all around the world.

With most sports, it would be impossible for a figure like Kinahan to become so prominent. But boxing operates with light touch regulation, or no regulation at all, some would argue.

For years, Kinahan managed fighters but, because he described himself as an advisor rather than a manager, the authorities said they couldn't do anything about his presence in boxing. Boxing, at administrative level, is a mess, and Kinahan has exploited that fact.

Episode three of Shadow Boxing is available on all major platforms now.

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