Don King (boxing promoter)

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Don King

Don King in 2007.
Born August 20, 1931
Cleveland, Ohio
Nationality American
Occupation Boxing promoter

Donald "Don" King (born August 20, 1931), is an American boxing promoter particularly known for his hairstyle and flamboyant personality. His career has been highlighted by experience promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle," the "Thrilla in Manila," and the ascent and fall of Mike Tyson. King has promoted some of the most prominent names in boxing, including Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Evander Holyfield.

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[edit] Early life

King was born in Cleveland, Ohio. After dropping out of Kent State University, he ran an illegal bookmaking operation, and was charged for killing two men in two separate incidents that were 13 years apart. The first was determined to be justifiable homicide after it was found that King shot a man in the back and killed him while he was attempting to rob one of King's gambling houses. King was convicted of second degree murder for the second killing after he was found guilty of beating to death an employee who owed him $600. In an ex parte meeting with King's attorney, the judge reduced King's conviction to nonnegligent manslaughter for which King served just under four years in prison.[1]

[edit] Career

King entered the boxing world after convincing Muhammad Ali to box in a charity exhibition for a local hospital in Cleveland with the help of singer Lloyd Price. Early on he formed a partnership with a local promoter named Don Elbaum, who already had a stable of fighters in Cleveland and years of experience in boxing.

In 1974, King negotiated to promote a heavyweight championship fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in (DR Congo) Zaire, popularly known as "The Rumble in the Jungle." The fight between Ali and Foreman was a much-anticipated event. King's rivals all sought to promote the bout, but King was able to secure the then-record $10 million purse through an arrangement with the Zaire government.

King solidified his position as one of boxing's preeminent promoters the following year with the third fight between Ali and Joe Frazier in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, which King deemed the "Thrilla In Manila." Aside from promoting the premier heavyweight fights of the 1970s, King was also busy expanding his boxing empire. Throughout the decade, he compiled an impressive roster of fighters, many of whom would finish their career with Hall of Fame credentials. Fighters like Larry Holmes, Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran, Salvador Sanchez, Wilfredo Gómez, and Alexis Arguello would all fight under the Don King Productions promotional banner in the 1970s.

For the next two decades, King continued to be among boxing's most successful promoters. Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Julio César Chávez, Aaron Pryor, Bernard Hopkins, Ricardo Lopez, Felix Trinidad, Terry Norris, Carlos Zarate, Azumah Nelson, Andrzej Gołota, Mike McCallum,Gerald McClellan and Meldrick Taylor are some of the boxers who chose King to promote many of their biggest fights.

Outside of boxing, he also managed the Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour.

[edit] Controversies

Don King has been a lightning rod for controversy throughout his career. He has been the subject of several lawsuits by boxers he managed who alleged that they were forced to hire King's relatives and cronies. He has faced charges of tax evasion by the IRS. Rumors of jury-tampering have swirled around him. And it also became known that the rights to pay-per-view fights he promoted were awarded to organized crime figures, some of whom may have known King from his book-making days.

King has been investigated for possible connections with organized crime. During a 1992 Senate investigation King pleaded the Fifth Amendment when questioned about his connection to mobster John Gotti. In public, however, he has responded to mob allegations by calling them racist.

[edit] Lawsuits and fraud prosecutions filed against King

King has been involved in a several litigation cases with boxers that were focused on fraud. They include a 1980 trial in which Muhammad Ali sued King for underpaying him $1.2 million for a fight with Larry Holmes. Ali settled for $50,000. Tim Witherspoon sued King and won $900,000. Mike Tyson sued King for $100 million. It was settled out of court for around 10-14 million.

In May 2003, King was sued by Lennox Lewis, who wants $385 million from the promoter, claiming King used threats to pull Tyson away from a rematch with Lewis. Terry Norris settled a lawsuit out of court against Don King for breach of contract for 7.5 million dollars. In early 2006, Chris Byrd sued Don King for breach of contract and the two eventually settled out of court under the condition that Byrd would be released from his contract with King.

[edit] Lloyd's of London

Insurance company Lloyd's of London sued King for $350,000, claiming insurance fraud in a Julio Cesar Chavez fight that was canceled. King was charged with insurance fraud by the U.S. Justice Department. The judge declared a mistrial after a hung jury in 1995, and he was acquitted on a retrial in 1998.

[edit] Personal life

King's family consist of his wife, Henrietta, daughter Debbie, sons, Carl and Eric. He has five grandchildren. King is politically active and made media appearances promoting George W. Bush during the 2004 U.S. presidential election, which included attendance at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York.

[edit] Legacy

In Atlantic City, New Jersey there is a plaza named in tribute to King.

[edit] Popular culture

King has become a prominent figure in American media. King is well known for his hairstyle. In a 1993 interview with Jet magazine, King said that he uses Aqua Net hairspray and a comb to style his coif every day. King has made several appearances on The Howard Stern Show.

[edit] Television

King frequently appears on talk shows including the Jimmy Kimmel and Howard Stern shows to promote fights. He has been portrayed by Dave Chappelle in a skit about a "Gay America," promoting a boxing match between two homosexual boxers. A 1996 episode of The Simpsons featured a boxing promoter named Lucius Sweet, described by Homer Simpson as being "exactly as rich and as famous as Don King and he looks just like him too!" In 1997, actor Ving Rhames played King in a made for TV movie, Don King: Only in America which aired on HBO. Rhames won a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of King. In a 1998 episode of South Park, titled "Damien", Jesus and Satan are to have a boxing match to decide the conflict between good and evil, and Don King represents Satan.

In the episode "My Brother's Keeper" of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Carlton is portrayed as Don King in one of Will's dreams. On an episode of Boy Meets World, Cory is having really bad hair problems, and his hair is similar to Don King's. One kid even made fun of Cory by saying, "Hey look, it's Don King." In Celebrity Deathmatch, Don King's death was a running gag during the series' first season. In the final episode of the second season, he was matched against Donald Trump, with King being killed again, this time in the ring.

[edit] Movies

In the third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, the emperor emerges from a bell struck by a cannonball with his hair sticking straight up. Donatello says, "Hey, look - Don King!" The character of flashy boxing promoter George Washington Duke, played by Richard Gant in the film Rocky V, is based on King and uses his famous catchphrase, "Only in America!" King made a brief cameo as himself in the 1997 movie The Devil's Advocate. In the movie, Scary Movie 4, a man similar to Don King falls on the son of the antagonist.

[edit] Video games

In the comic Sonic X #26, one of Dr. Eggman's robots disguises himself as Don King. In the Xbox video game Jade Empire a character named "Qui The Promoter" is based on Don King, including personality and his speech patterns. In the game, ABC Wide World of Sports Boxing the top manager was reminiscent of King. Also, Don King is helping create a video game called Don King Presents: Prizefighter which is available June 10th for the Xbox 360

[edit] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  1. ^ Puma, Mike. Only in America. ESPN Classic. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.

[edit] External links