One of the most exciting boxers at the last Olympics was the eventual middleweight champion, Hebert Conceicao.
He made his professional debut last Saturday, beating a journeyman in Danny Mendoza.
That the fight between a Brazilian and a Nicaraguan took place in the city of Tashkent in Uzbekistan tells us much about the geopolitics of sport.
It is a country that is rich in oil and other natural resources. It is a country with a poor human rights record. It is a country that is using sport to help launder its reputation.
The card in Taskhkent was a Probellum one — a company that has made a rapid rise and that has issued writs against journalists who suggested that it has links to the now defunct MTK Global.
So the Probellum chiefs wouldn’t have been happy with Shakhobidin Zoirov last Saturday night.
He was on the undercard in Taskhkent and stepped into the ring wearing a robe with a large MTK Global on the back.
Maybe it’s a reminder to us all that the company co founded by Daniel Kinahan still casts a long shadow, as does the man himself.
Tonight in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, there is another echo of Kinahan with the heavyweight clash of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.
Two years ago, the world was waiting on a huge Joshua fight there — but the expectation was that it would be against Tyson Fury.
Just after lunchtime on June 9, 2020, Fury uploaded a video on to his Instagram account.
In that clip, he — prematurely — announced that a deal had been done to fight Joshua.
It would be one of the most lucrative fights of all time and Fury made it clear that would happen due to one man. “Thanks to Dan!” Dan is Daniel Kinahan.
Quickly, it emerged that Saudi Arabia was favourite to host the event, but the scrutiny on Kinahan from outside Ireland after Fury’s Insta post helped reach the situation where the US authorities offered a $5m reward for information leading to his capture.
Fury is retiring and coming out of retirement at a bewildering rate. Today is a Saturday. When there’s an ‘r’ in the day, we think it means he is still retired...
For all sorts of reasons, Fury v Joshua in Saudi Arabia would have been the ultimate sportswashing event.
Even without Fury’s former advisor, Kinahan, and MTK Global, it’s still right up there.
Try telling that to Joshua, though. Golfers have come up with some lame excuses for getting in bed with the Saudis, Joshua raised eyebrows with his pathetic responses this week too.
Presumably, he lies in a dark cave in Ulan Bator with no electricity as he claimed not to understand what sportswashing means.
“I don’t know what that is. The world’s in a bad place, I can’t just point one place out,” he said. “If you want to point Saudi out, let’s point everyone out. We’ve all got to do better, and that’s where my heart is. The whole world has got to do better if it wants to change.”
An answer worthy of a Rose of Tralee contestant.
This was a week where a woman, Salma al-Shehab, was sentenced to 34 years in prison in Saudi because she followed and retweeted dissidents on Twitter.
This is a country that executed 81 men on one day in March — some were killed for holding “deviant beliefs’’.
Ongoing issues with Saudi Arabia include the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the treatment of women and gay people, the hacking of Jeff Bezos’ phone and the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
Saudi law has led to gay people being punished for homosexual acts with public whippings and chemical castration, as well as exectutions.
According to the promoter of tonight’s fight, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, Joshua v Usyk had to take place in Jeddah, though.
“I’m very comfortable, particularly in boxing, to make decisions like that. It’s a prize fight where, contractually, we have to go to the venue that ultimately creates the most amount of revenue for this fight,’’ he said.
“Even if I felt it was morally incorrect to come here, I would still come.”
The LIV tour is an attempted power-grab in golf, and it’s using Saudi money as a weapon.
Tomorrow, in the Premier League, Manchester City — backed by Abu Dhabi — take on Newcastle United — with Saudi owners.
Sport has become a battleground. Amnesty International, for example, don’t get involved in boxing very often but have been vocal in condemning the decision to hold Joshua v Usyk in Jeddah.
It’s important too to point out the double standards that are often at play.
Many Irish companies do business with Saudi Arabia. Leo Varadkar led a trade mission to Saudi last year and pledged to “deepen ties’’ with this country.
US President Joe Biden visited Saudi last month. France and Britain are among other countries keen to forge links with Saudi Arabia.
So it’s understandable why some in sport wonder why they’re hammered for going to Saudi, when politicians and business leaders aren’t.
Sportswashers do come in different guises — and Ireland had one of the kings in a former furniture shop owner from Dublin.
Many believe he had become the most powerful figure in the sport worldwide.
Former allies of Kinahan have now set up other companies within boxing, and with many former MTK people on board.
There has been no attempt by boxing to address the chaotic way the sport operates.
If another Kinahan came along tomorrow, there’s nothing to stop him buying his way into a position of power.
The world has become smaller, though, for those within boxing with connections to Kinahan.
A list of over 600 names has been drawn up by the US authorities. None of those are allowed to enter America. That list includes some of the biggest names in boxing.
Without America — pro boxing’s home — where do they go when they want to attend the biggest fights? Where the money is. For now, that’s Saudi Arabia, where many of them will be in the crowd tonight.
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