Don King is going into the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame.

It is unclear as of the time of this writing if King, now 93 years old, will attend Saturday’s event at the Orleans Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas. Christy Martin, the titleholder who famously fought on a number of King cards during her own influential rise, will be there.

The week will be a big one for women’s boxing. The WBC will hold a women’s boxing summit on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by the Hall of Fame event Friday and Saturday. All of these events are scheduled at the Orleans.

“My understanding is, I'm going to be accepting the award for Don King,” Martin told BoxingScene. “That's if DK doesn't decide to come.”

King, an icon of the golden era of 1990s boxing, was a larger-than-life personality known as the ultimate showman who brought depth to pay-per-view undercards – including promoting Martin and putting her in marquee positions on Mike Tyson undercards. This was at a time when women’s boxing was viewed as more of a novelty than a vital subset of the sport.

“For women's boxing, there can only be a love-love relationship for Don King, because if he had not taken a chance and rolled the dice, there were a lot of women fighters before me, but no one had gotten the exposure on those huge cards like I did,” Martin said. “So without Don King giving me that opportunity, where would women's boxing be today? We don't know.”

Martin modestly downplays her own gigantic role in popularizing women’s boxing, which coincided with her surviving years of abuse at the hands of her husband and manager, Jim Martin. The experience eventually led the fighter to found Christy’s Champs, a non-profit started in 2015 to provide support for domestic violence victims and raise awareness.

Having faced a variety of pressures during her fighting years, Martin noted that, for many of the high-profile cards on which she appeared, she was the first women’s professional boxer many observers had ever seen. She credits King with putting her in such a position and putting stock in her career.

“I always felt like every time I slid through the ropes, Don King was on my shoulder and with every performance, I just couldn't let him down,” Martin said. “He was taking a huge gamble, a huge risk, and there were so many naysayers out there, but he kept giving me those opportunities. I kept trying my best and just wanted to put on action fights every time out and, win, lose or draw, I wanted to give the fans their money's worth.”

Martin, who is a member of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame, was amazed that King hadn’t already been inducted into the latter.

“It's a surprise it's taken this long, because without Don King giving me the opportunity in 1996 or by signing me in 1993, where would women's boxing be today?” Martin asked. “Who was going to come along that was going to take a risk on a female? It was just a perfect match at the right time.”

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.