By Michael Marley

These are difficult days and nights for the uber rich boxing promoter Don King.

King's beloved wife, Henrietta is a tiny dynamo of a woman who has always been the rock of the King family.

Mrs. King has been riddled with cancer and is bedridden.

Her husband has taken the 87-year-old to the best doctors and the greatest hospitals, including his hometown Cleveland Clinic, with little relief.

Some of those closest to the 79-year-old promoter say that Thanksgiving was traumatic for the entire family gathered in South Florida. They knew it might well be the final such holiday they would share with the matriarch of the clan which now includes many grandchildren.

I spoke to King Thursday morning and it was obvious that boxing is the least of his priorities right now and that he has a heavy heart.

But I was surprised to hear who the legendary fightmaker has been providing emotional support and solace in recent days.

I was trying to follow up repeated rumors that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has again visited King and that another "flirtation" which might lead to a promoter-fighter relationship could be evolving.

"Floyd is here right now," King said. "Floyd is very concerned about me and especially about my wife.

"Really, Floyd has just been a great guy on this. Floyd has been very, very kind."

(I do not know if King meant Mayweather was in his oceanfront house in Manalapan, in the area or had just been at his house. A source in Las Vegas informed that he believed Mayweather was in Florida and visited with King last weekend but returned to his Las Vegas home on Monday.)

I asked if they had discussed boxing issues.

"No," King said, "not even for a minute, not now. All I can tell you is that Floyd has been showing a lot of love to me and to my family."

Carl King, who has managed many boxers, is Henrietta's son from her first marriage while Eric and Debbie King are the son and daughter of the promoter and his wife.

Carl has a son and a daughter, Debbie has two sons and Eric has one daughter, to the best of my recollection.

Given the family crisis, King was even reluctant to discuss how the Devon Alexander-Tim Bradley junior welterweight unification bout, ste for Jan. 29 on HBO, landed at the Pontiac Silverdome.

"I just supported (co-promoter) Gary Shaw on that situation," King said. "My mind has not been on that or anything else to do with boxing. It's all Gary, Gary and the guy who owns the stadium."

King promotes Alexander whose manager-trainer Kevin Cunningham wanted the fight to be in his fighter's hometown of St. Louis but Shaw, working for Bradley, wanted a neutral site.