MTK Global

MTK Global (Mack The Knife Global)[1] is a boxing and MMA management and event promotions company founded by Daniel Kinahan[2][3] and former professional boxer Matthew Macklin in 2012, originally established as MGM (Macklins Gym Marbella).[4]

Since its founding, MTK Global has signed a host of world class fighters, including 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.[5][6]

History

MTK Global originally formed as MGM, an acronym for Macklins Gym Marbella,[7] 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 rebranded to MTK Global.[8][9]

In December 2017, it was announced UFC star Darren Till had signed with the company, marking MTK Global's entry into MMA.[10][11]

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."[12][13]

In November 2019, it was announced MTK Global had entered a partnership with The Academy of Sports and Education to form the MTK National Boxing and Education Academy, a programme for 16–18 year olds aimed at enabling young people to gain relevant qualifications relating to a career in the sport of boxing, whether that be as a professional boxer, physiotherapist, coach or in sports journalism. The first academy was opened in London in January 2020, with the goal to roll the programme out across the UK by September.[14]

The Golden Contract
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.[15] The fights will be aired live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom[16] and streamed on ESPN+ in the United States.[17]

Current notable boxers
Boxer [18]NationalityWeight
Joshua Adewale English Middleweight
David Brophy Scottish Super-middleweight
Akeem Ennis-Brown English Light-welterweight
Hekkie Budler South African Light-flyweight
Hosea Burton English Light-heavyweight
Iain Butcher Scottish Bantamweight
Chantelle Cameron English Light-welterweight
Danny Carr English Welterweight
Jono Carroll Irish Super-featherweight
Jack Catterall English Light-welterweight
Michael Conlan Irish Featherweight
Ohara Davies English Light-welterweight
TJ Doheny Irish Super-bantamweight
Steven Donnelly Northern Irish Light-middleweight
Charlie Edwards English Flyweight
Sunny Edwards English Super-flyweight
Larry Ekundayo Nigerian Welterweight
Rocky Fielding English Super-middleweight
Terry Flanagan English Light-welterweight
Carl Frampton Northern Irish Featherweight
Hughie Fury English Heavyweight
Tyson Fury English Heavyweight
Jay Harris Welsh Flyweight
Jamel Herring American Super-featherweight
Natasha Jonas English Lightweight
David Oliver Joyce Irish Featherweight
Elhem Mekhaled French Super-featherweight
Martin Murray English Super-middleweight
Amansio Paraschiv Romanian Middleweight
David Price English Heavyweight
Billy Joe Saunders English Super-middleweight
Andrew Selby Welsh Flyweight
Liam Smith English Light-welterweight
Josh Taylor Scottish Light-welterweight
Liam Walsh English Lightweight
Muhammad Waseem Pakistani Flyweight
Shakhobidin Zoirov Uzbekistani Bantamweight

Controversies

MTK Global has been criticised in the Irish media for its links to gangland figures, in particular, co-founder Daniel Kinahan, a member of Ireland's notorious Kinahan Cartel.[19][20][21][22][23]

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.[24]

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.[25][26][27]

Due to the criticisms, CEO Sandra Vaughan announced a boycott of Irish media in 2018.[28][29] In May 2020 MTK announced it had agreed a partnership with Kinahan, who had previously sold his share and distances himself from the company. Following the announcement it was widely reported that Irish police believe the Kinahan Cartel plan to use MTK as a front for criminal activities.[30]

References
  1. "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. "MTK GLOBAL TO HOST INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY DAYS TO CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARY". MTK Global. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  5. "Boxers". MTK Global. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  6. "UNBEATEN AMANSIO PARASCHIV JOINS MTK GLOBAL – ADDED TO SUNDAY'S MTK CARD". MTK Global. 2020-10-15.
  7. "Carl Frampton signs with firm whose gym was raided by gardai". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  8. "Las Vegas casino giant forces boxing firm to change name | Evening Times". www.eveningtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  9. O'Neill, Joe (2017-01-23). "Macklin's Gym Marbella to rebrand". Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  10. "Darren Till Calls Out 'Irish Boy' Conor McGregor After Signing With Matthew Macklin's MTK Global – Pundit Arena". punditarena.com. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  11. "MTK Global sign UFC star Darren Till". MTK Global. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  12. "Top Rank reaches deal for MTK cards on ESPN". ESPN.com. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  13. RINGSIDE. "Top Rank deal sees 30 MTK Global shows per year broadcast on ESPN". Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  14. Lewis, Ron (2 February 2020). "MTK Global CEO Expects Big Things For New Academy". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  15. "MTK Announce Series Of 'Golden Contract' Tournaments". Boxing Social. 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  16. "The Golden Contract tournament will be shown live on Sky Sports". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  17. "What's the Golden Contract tournament, and who's in it?". ESPN.com. 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  18. "Boxers". MTK Global. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  19. "Daniel Kinahan living in 'air-conditioned desert prison' as he's afraid to leave Dubai". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  20. Reynolds, Paul (2019-08-03). "How the Kinahan crime gang were jailed". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  21. "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.
  22. "Kinahan gang member's shadow hangs over Irish boxing". www.irishtimes.com. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  23. McDermott, by Stephen; 11:00, 22 Mar 2017Updated10:33 (2017-03-22). "Katie Taylor's dad 'knew nothing' of new boxer's link to Kinahans". dublinlive. Retrieved 2019-11-20.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. "Regency Hotel shooting investigation collapses, sparking fears of more Kinahan-Hutch related violence". www.bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  25. 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.
  26. "Guardia Civil raid MGM gym and arrest murder suspect". Planet Marbella. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  27. Couzens, by Gerard; 13:39, 14 Sep 2016Updated15:05 (2016-09-14). "VIDEO: Spanish police raid gym believed to be linked to Kinahan cartel". irishmirror. Retrieved 2019-11-21.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. "MTK Global announces total boycott of Irish media". www.rte.ie. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  29. "MTK Global's Irish boxers not competing in Irish capital". 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  30. https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/0521/1139799-kinahan-boxing/
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