Skip to main content
Regional secretary with the National Education Union
Crawford’s accusation ignites new firestorm
JOHN WIGHT writes on intrigue and controversy surrounding the WBO Welterweight champ’s lawsuit against Top Rank promoter Bob Arum
Terence Crawford at a press conference in London in 2019

TERENCE “BUD” CRAWFORD has ignited a firestorm in filing a recent lawsuit against Top Rank’s Bob Arum, accusing him of damaging his career due to “revolting racial bias” and alleging breach of contract and fraudulent and negligent representation in failing to follow through on promises to secure him a unification fight with Errol Spence Jnr.

In going after Arum with such venom, the 34-year-old WBO welterweight champion and pound for pound best in the world contender, is clearly in no mind to take any prisoners.

Further intrigue surrounds the fact that Crawford’s adviser is Dubai-based Dan Kinahan, a man whom the Irish authorities have long claimed sits at the apex of an international drugs cartel and whom they allege has ordered a string of murders in Ireland over the course of a gang war that’s been raging there since 2016.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Northern Ireland's Kristina O'Hara (left) in action against India's MC Mery Kom at Oxenford Studios during day ten of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia
Women’s boxing / 18 July 2025
18 July 2025

Mary Kom’s fists made history in the boxing world. Malak Mesleh’s never got the chance. One story ends in glory, the other in grief — but both highlight the defiance of women who dare to fight, writes JOHN WIGHT

Algeria�s Imane Khelif (left) in action against Thailand�s Janjaem Suwannapheng during the Women�s 66kg Semi-Final at Roland-Garros Stadium on the Eleventh day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France. Picture date: Tuesday August 6, 2024
Boxing / 4 July 2025
4 July 2025

The Khelif gender row shows no sign of being resolved to the satisfaction of anyone involved anytime soon, says boxing writer JOHN WIGHT

Floyd Patterson
Men’s boxing / 20 June 2025
20 June 2025

When Patterson and Liston met in the ring in 1962, it was more than a title bout — it was a collision of two black archetypes shaped by white America’s fears and fantasies, writes JOHN WIGHT

Law enforcement officers stand guard as demonstrators protest, June 11, 2025, in Los Angeles
Opinion / 13 June 2025
13 June 2025

In the land of white supremacy, colonialism and the foul legacy of the KKK, JOHN WIGHT knows that to resist the fascism unleashed by Trump is to do God’s work

Similar stories
Tyson Fury ringside at the Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, Feb
Men's Boxing / 15 April 2025
15 April 2025
George Foreman yells, October 15, 1974, in N'Sele, Kinshasa,
Men’s Boxing / 28 March 2025
28 March 2025
JOHN WIGHT pays tribute to the late great George Foreman who defied the odds throughout his life and career to become a household name and legend of the sport
Chris Eubank Jr can be seen at York Hall, London, October 21
Men’s boxing / 11 October 2024
11 October 2024
JOHN WIGHT discusses how the role of the promoter in professional boxing has always been controversial, and for mainly justifiable reasons historically