Todd duBoef, the President of Top Rank Boxing, allegedly hid deals he made with the head of a criminal drug gang from TV partner ESPN so he could land coveted Tyson Fury fights, according to a blockbuster suit filed Thursday afternoon.
DuBoef also allegedly hid this arrangement from his legendary stepfather and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. He is Arum’s second wife’s son and lives in Aspen, Colo.
Boxing manager William Keane is suing Top Rank and duBoef in California Federal Court for more than $25 million in unpaid fees.
He alleges in his suit that duBoef desperately needed some big fights to please ESPN after signing a $90 million per year media rights contract in 2017.
DuBoef is accused of reaching a deal with alleged crime boss Daniel Kinahan, who has ties to Fury, to get the multiple-time heavyweight champ to fight with Top Rank. DuBoef was aware of Kinahan’s reputation, the suit claims.
DuBoef allegedly told Keane, who brokered the Kinahan arrangement in 2019, to not tell ESPN that Kinahan underwrote the purse of the second Fury-Deontay Wilder fight, according to court documents. Top Rank was desperate because it allegedly did not have the money to underwrite the bout.
DuBoef “authorized Keane to move forward [with Kinahan], but he admonished Keane that ESPN could not find out that Kinahan was involved. According to duBoef, the Irish press had reported that Kinahan was the head of a drug cartel, and if duBoef were linked to Kinahan, ESPN might be forced to terminate their deal,” the suit alleges.
He also allegedly paid Kinahan a fee under the table to get more fights as his top international consultant. DuBoef did not want 93 year-old Arum, who gained fame for promoting “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran fights in the 70s and 80s to find out that he had hired Kinahan for that role, the suit alleges.
The US Treasury in April 2022 sanctioned Kinahan, calling his organization a criminal group. This was a serious problem because Kinahan was a known Fury advisor.
“DuBoef asked Keane to lie to senior ESPN executives and say that duBoef had nothing to do with Kinahan and had never even met him,” the suit alleges.
“I’m a law-abiding American citizen,” Bob Arum said publicly at the time, “and I will adhere to those sanctions and not have any business relationship or any other relationship with [Kinahan] — period. End of story. There’s not even an argument there.”
Kinahan is now reportedly in Dubai and facing extradition for possible money laundering charges back to his home country of Ireland, as a treaty between the United Arab Emirates and Ireland could happen in the coming days.
ESPN has already decided not to renew its contract with Top Rank that expires this year, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
Top Rank hopes to land a contract with a steaming service like Amazon if it cannot strike a new deal with ESPN, sources said.
Meanwhile, Top Rank says it still has Fury for one more US fight. Fury announced last month that he is retiring from boxing.
Fury has been Top Rank’s biggest star since it lost Manny Pacquiao.
Top Rank did not immediately respond for comment after the suit was filed.
