Fighters Whose Lives Were Ruined By Don King..

[tyger]

As far as fighters go, Tim Witherspoon cames to mind. Witherspoon sued King and got a settlement. As a result for years after, Tim was banned from the ratings and not allowed anywhere near a title. His blacklist included the entire Tyson era.

[Suckmedry]

Sam Garrett was the second person to be killed by Don King..
Garrett was a slightly built 135lb man who had only 1 kidney & was suffering from TB.. King pistol whipped & kicked him to death in the street over a $600 ******** debt.. King still had the gun in his hand when Police arrived..
He got the charges dropped to manslsughter, and only served 3 years & 11 months..
Before this, he'd shot & killed Hillary Brown, who had allegedly tried to rob one of Kings ******** shops.. He pleaded self defense, and the jury believed and aquitted him of any wrong doing..

I'm not sure if he plead self defence, they ruled it justifiable homicide because the man was in the process of robbing King.

[mickey malone]

In August 1982 King pressured the promising young HW, 'Terrible' Tim Witherspoon into signing a slave-like agreement whereby Carl King, Don's flunky stepson, would act as his manager.. As usual, King dispensed plenty of fatherly advice as he put his arm around Tim, but once they met at Kings plush 69th street office, the real Don King emerged: the jive-talking street hustler whipped out 4 different contracts for the bedazzled fighter to sign..
One was an exclusive contract with Don King Promotions; a second was an exclusive managerial contract with Carl King which entitled the stepson to a third of Tim's purses..
The third contract however, instructed, that should 'difficult circumstances' arise, Carl could take up to half.. This, despite the fact 50/50 deals were illegal in Vegas and Atlantic City..
A fourth contract that Tim was ordered to sign, was left blank..

On 20 May 83, Witherspoon got a shot at champ Larry Holmes.. Tim put up a great show, losing a SD that many thought was a robbery.. To add insult to injury, he had to wait 4 months for his money, a pathetic $53,000..
Scott Frank, a pudgy white clubfighter who was controlled by the Duva's had got $350,000 for getting destroyed by Holmes..
By now, Holmes himself, was starting to rebell against King, and broke away from him claiming he had certain rights under the United States Constitution..
However, was sadly mistaken..

In November 83, Holmes almost decappitated Marvis Frazier in the 1st round of a
mis-match, but the WBC refused to recognize the fight, and Sulaiman threatened to strip Larry of the title unless he went back to King.. Holmes replied angrilly, telling Sulaiman to *** off, and that he was through with being Don King's whore..

After 15 defenses (only 2nd to Louis) Holmes had been robbed of his title..
King and his stooge, Sulaiman, then quickly fixed up a match between Witherspoon and Greg Page, with the winner being declared as champion.. King conveniently controlled both fighters, and after a dreary affair Witherspoon got the DC, and became WBC champ..
He was promised $250,000 purse money, but after ex's, received just $41,498..
Karl King trousered $125,000..

Witherspoon was now starting to become angry at the way he was being treated and demanded $350,000 in his hand, when King pitched him against Pinklon Thomas in his 1st defense.. So, King brought the 'special circumstances' contract into play, which meant Carl King would be getting half of it..
With Don as his promoter and Carl as his manager, they had Tim by the balls, and he became depressed, stopped training, started smoking dope and inevitably dropped the DC to Thomas who was in much better shape on the night.. Witherspoon then drifted away for a bit, while the King's played around with other bodies: namely: Dokes, Tubbs, Berbick and Page..

In January 86 Witherspoon was recycled again.. Broke but determined, he DC'd an out of shape Tubbs and won the WBA version of the crown..
Away from Sulaiman, but no escape from King..

Hard puncher, Frank Bruno was next up, infront of 55,000 fanatical British supporters at Wembly Stadium, North London.. HBO paid $1.7million for the American TV Rights.. Bruno's promoter, Micky Duff claimed 1 million had been set aside for Witherspoon's purse, and after the King's had taken their share, Tim was to receive $550,000..
The fight itself was a brutal affair, Spoon had underestimated Bruno's power and was taking a beating when out of desperation, he suddenly exploded with 4 looping overhand rights, to end matters in the 11th.. Although victorious, he was badly hurt and had to be helped back to his hotel room.. In a rare moment of compassion, King promised him a
bonus, but weeks later Tim's $550,000 turned out to be a paltry $90,000..

Mickey Duff then went on record to say, that the King's had coined in at least $2million, with Carl's share being $250,000 & Don coining the rest.. Bruno, who he defeated received in excess of 6 times the amount cleared by Tim.. Witherspoon became insensed, and wasted large amounts of his small salary trying to find a way out of his contracts with the Kings, but they had him stitched up in every which way possible.. Furthermore, King played the Joker, and pulled out a re-match clause from the Tubbs fight, but to everyone's surprise, Tubbs gave it the finger, when he found out he was only getting a pitiful $25,000..
So, then King pulls the Ace, and the 'in-form' Bonecrusher Smith, another Carl King fighter, is immediatelly brought up to the plate as an eleventh hour replacement..
Smith had also KO'd Bruno, and was the 'Mac Foster' of his time.. Witherspoon had trained relutantly for a shot Tubbs, and showed up, looking like he'd just had a joint (infact, i think he had, lol).. The bell sounded for the 1st and Smith sensed Tim wasn't right and trounced all over him, knocking him down 3 times and leaving him sprawled & helpless..

After the fight, Witherspoon said, "I'm glad i lost, maybe i can get my career straightened out, and a manager who can help me."

Tim was now done with the Kings, and was gauranteed $300,000 pay off minus ex's of course, but once again, he ended up with just $99,000..
Carl King got $128,000, 30,000 of which he was supposed to give to Slim Robinson (Spoons trainer) but stiffed him for the lot, so Tim paid Robinson out of his share which left him with just $69,000..
Though the contract had also provided for $100,000 training ex's, King insisted he train instead, at his lavish Ohio farm at an extra $1000 a day..
Then the IRS sent him a tax bill for $66,000, leaving Tim a measley $3000 from a gauranteed $300,000.. He immediately filed a lawsuit against King, and after TEN long years of wriggling through the courts, King was finally ordered to pay Tim damages totalling $1million, most of which was used to pay off the debts getting there.. Worst of all, Terrible Tim never fulfilled his potential as a fighter, and could have been really special.. Another potetial ATG, ruined by King, and who had to fight way into his forties, just to survive..

"Don hurt me real bad, he made me sign blank contracts & use his son as manager.. He warned me never to talk to a lawyer.. He never gave me copies of anything i signed.. I had no rights, i had nobody i could appeal my case to.. Don messed me up real bad..
Let me tell you, I hate that mother***er."

Tim Witherspoon - talking to Jack Newfield of the New York State Athletic Commission..

[mickey malone]

I'm not sure if he plead self defence, they ruled it justifiable homicide because the man was in the process of robbing King.

My mistake.. He claimed 'self-defense' after killing Garrett..
Got muddled for a mo... Cheers for that..

[Suckmedry]

My mistake.. He claimed 'self-defense' after killing Garrett..
Got muddled for a mo... Cheers for that..

No worries. But yeah, the guy is a genuinely bad man with a criminal background to match.

[Suckmedry]

In August 1982 King pressured the promising young HW, 'Terrible' Tim Witherspoon into signing a slave-like agreement whereby Carl King, Don's flunky stepson, would act as his manager.. As usual, King dispensed plenty of fatherly advice as he put his arm around Tim, but once they met at Kings plush 69th street office, the real Don King emerged: the jive-talking street hustler whipped out 4 different contracts for the bedazzled fighter to sign..
One was an exclusive contract with Don King Promotions; a second was an exclusive managerial contract with Carl King which entitled the stepson to a third of Tim's purses..
The third contract however, instructed, that should 'difficult circumstances' arise, Carl could take up to half.. This, despite the fact 50/50 deals were illegal in Vegas and Atlantic City..
A fourth contract that Tim was ordered to sign, was left blank..

On 20 May 83, Witherspoon got a shot at champ Larry Holmes.. Tim put up a great show, losing a SD that many thought was a robbery.. To add insult to injury, he had to wait 4 months for his money, a pathetic $53,000..
Scott Frank, a pudgy white clubfighter who was controlled by the Duva's had got $350,000 for getting destroyed by Holmes..
By now, Holmes himself, was starting to rebell against King, and broke away from him claiming he had certain rights under the United States Constitution..
However, was sadly mistaken..

In November 83, Holmes almost decappitated Marvis Frazier in the 1st round of a
mis-match, but the WBC refused to recognize the fight, and Sulaiman threatened to strip Larry of the title unless he went back to King.. Holmes replied angrilly, telling Sulaiman to *** off, and that he was through with being Don King's whore..

After 15 defenses (only 2nd to Louis) Holmes had been robbed of his title..
King and his stooge, Sulaiman, then quickly fixed up a match between Witherspoon and Greg Page, with the winner being declared as champion.. King conveniently controlled both fighters, and after a dreary affair Witherspoon got the DC, and became WBC champ..
He was promised $250,000 purse money, but after ex's, received just $41,498..
Karl King trousered $125,000..

Witherspoon was now starting to become angry at the way he was being treated and demanded $350,000 in his hand, when King pitched him against Pinklon Thomas in his 1st defense.. So, King brought the 'special circumstances' contract into play, which meant Carl King would be getting half of it..
With Don as his promoter and Carl as his manager, they had Tim by the balls, and he became depressed, stopped training, started smoking dope and inevitably dropped the DC to Thomas who was in much better shape on the night.. Witherspoon then drifted away for a bit, while the King's played around with other bodies: namely: Dokes, Tubbs, Berbick and Page..

In January 86 Witherspoon was recycled again.. Broke but determined, he DC'd an out of shape Tubbs and won the WBA version of the crown..
Away from Sulaiman, but no escape from King..

Hard puncher, Frank Bruno was next up, infront of 55,000 fanatical British supporters at Wembly Stadium, North London.. HBO paid $1.7million for the American TV Rights.. Bruno's promoter, Micky Duff claimed 1 million had been set aside for Witherspoon's purse, and after the King's had taken their share, Tim was to receive $550,000..
The fight itself was a brutal affair, Spoon had underestimated Bruno's power and was taking a beating when out of desperation, he suddenly exploded with 4 looping overhand rights, to end matters in the 11th.. Although victorious, he was badly hurt and had to be helped back to his hotel room.. In a rare moment of compassion, King promised him a
bonus, but weeks later Tim's $550,000 turned out to be a paltry $90,000..

Mickey Duff then went on record to say, that the King's had coined in at least $2million, with Carl's share being $250,000 & Don coining the rest.. Bruno, who he defeated received in excess of 6 times the amount cleared by Tim.. Witherspoon became insensed, and wasted large amounts of his small salary trying to find a way out of his contracts with the Kings, but they had him stitched up in every which way possible.. Furthermore, King played the Joker, and pulled out a re-match clause from the Tubbs fight, but to everyone's surprise, Tubbs gave it the finger, when he found out he was only getting a pitiful $25,000..
So, then King pulls the Ace, and the 'in-form' Bonecrusher Smith, another Carl King fighter, is immediatelly brought up to the plate as an eleventh hour replacement..
Smith had also KO'd Bruno, and was the 'Mac Foster' of his time.. Witherspoon had trained relutantly for a shot Tubbs, and showed up, looking like he'd just had a joint (infact, i think he had, lol).. The bell sounded for the 1st and Smith sensed Tim wasn't right and trounced all over him, knocking him down 3 times and leaving him sprawled & helpless..

After the fight, Witherspoon said, "I'm glad i lost, maybe i can get my career straightened out, and a manager who can help me."

Tim was now done with the Kings, and was gauranteed $300,000 pay off minus ex's of course, but once again, he ended up with just $99,000..
Carl King got $128,000, 30,000 of which he was supposed to give to Slim Robinson (Spoons trainer) but stiffed him for the lot, so Tim paid Robinson out of his share which left him with just $69,000..
Though the contract had also provided for $100,000 training ex's, King insisted he train instead, at his lavish Ohio farm at an extra $1000 a day..
Then the IRS sent him a tax bill for $66,000, leaving Tim a measley $3000 from a gauranteed $300,000.. He immediately filed a lawsuit against King, and after TEN long years of wriggling through the courts, King was finally ordered to pay Tim damages totalling $1million, most of which was used to pay off the debts getting there.. Worst of all, Terrible Tim never fulfilled his potential as a fighter, and could have been really special.. Another potetial ATG, ruined by King, and who had to fight way into his forties, just to survive..

"Don hurt me real bad, he made me sign blank contracts & use his son as manager.. He warned me never to talk to a lawyer.. He never gave me copies of anything i signed.. I had no rights, i had nobody i could appeal my case to.. Don messed me up real bad..
Let me tell you, I hate that mother***er."

Tim Witherspoon - talking to Jack Newfield of the New York State Athletic Commission..

That is absolutely disgusting.

[mickey malone]

In one of the great upsets, a seven fight novice named Leon Spinks shocked the world by thumping Ali to win the heavyweight championship on 15 February 1978.. "Ali's the greatest, but I'm the latest," bellowed the new champ..

But Don King was worried.. He had lost Ali to Bob Arum after trying to steal him from his manager, Herbert Muhammad, and under boxing's fuedal line of succession, Arum now had Spinks for his next 3 title defenses..

So on March 29, Ken Norton was unilaterally proclaimed WBC HW champion by Jose Sulaiman.. Never mind that Norton hadn't won a title bout; Don King knew that if Arum controlled the HW championship, there was no way he could get back to the top of the heap.. Though Sulaiman had no legal right to do so, and the HW championship was the sports most important prize, he stripped Spinks of the WBC title and helped turn it into just another cheap trinket.. He used the flimsy premise that Spinks had promised Ali a rematch and would'nt immediately face Norton, who was WBC's top contender and controlled by King..
Ali had already beaten Norton 2 fights to 1 and the world didn't care about Spinks Norton, but hungered for an Ali Spinks rematch.. As Spinks title was in the process of being heisted, British promoter, Mickey Duff told delegates at the WBC Madrid convention, "Boxing owes Ali," and he was adamantly against it.. But the issue wasn't really about Ali: it was about Don King..

On 5 November 77, Norton defeated the stylish Jimmy Young, but in June 78 lost his claim to the bogus title when he was outpointed by Larry Holmes..
Holmes later claimed that King robbed him of millions.. According to Holmes, while Sulaiman looked the other way, King grabbed a quarter of his purse as an undercover manager, with Richie Giachetti (trainer) and Charles Spaziani (lawyer) receiving an eighth each, though it's hard to see what the lawyer actually did to help Larry..
Though the Nevada & New Jersey State Athletic Commissions were supposed to be protecting Holmes's purses, the embittered ex-champ swears he got just $150,000 of the contracted $500,000 he signed for, for his epic war with Norton..
Holmes also claims he only received $50,000 of the $200,000 he was contracted for after his March 78 encounter with the dreaded Earnie Shavers..
Holmes also said that King would promise, "Don't worry brother you'll do better next time," but the Don finally snapped, "God damn Larry, you're lucky you're still not washing cars."

In October 80, Holmes battered what was left of Ali, and cried after doing so.. Jose Torres claimed that Ali was on the experimental Parkinsons drug El Dopa, and the Mayo Clinic had a confidential report that strongly suggested that Ali not go in the ring..
Ali had to sue King, claiming he'd been short changed by $1 million in one of the most tragic sporting events in history..
In June 81, Holmes destroyed Leon Spinks who'd also lost his rematch with Ali, in 3 rounds.. Larry claims that King stiffed him for another $250,000 on this one too..
On 11 June 1982, Holmes won an ugly race-baiting grudge match with 'Great White Hope,' Gerry Cooney.. Though civil rights leader Jesse Jackson tried to knock down Cooney's purse on behalf of King, King was forced to agree that Cooney, as the most heavily-hyped challenger in years, had to get purse parity with the champion.. According to insiders who saw the records, Cooney who was represented by a very astute management team in Mike Jones and Dennis Rappaport, actually got $3 million more when all the closed-circuit revenue was finally tallied..

In November 82, Holmes handed out a brutal beating to wise-cracking punchbag, Randall 'Tex' Cobb.. Holmes contended that King slashed his purse from $2.1 million to 1.6million, then gouged him another $200,000, shortly after the woefully one sided fight..
Cobb also swears his purse was swindled out of $200,000.. However a mysterious $200,000 was documentably paid to Cobb's manager Joe Gramby, apparantly for 'consultancy fees', just before the fight..
In 1983, Holmes finally broke free from King.. Sulaiman then put so much pressure on him, Larry had to abdicate his hard earned crown and jumped ship, to Bob Lee's, then, newly founded International Boxing Federation, where he immediately won the IBF version of the title with a late stoppage win over James 'Bonecrusher' Smith..

[mickey malone]

I also want to mention Gerald McClellan whose life truly was ruined and his team definitely was to blame for it as well.
Great thread Mickey. You seem to have great sources at hand, and perhaps you can add some stuff for McClellan.

In 1995 Sulaiman & King finalized negotiations for WBC middleweight champion, Gerald McClellan to defend against ex-champ, Nigel Benn a fearsome puncher himself, in England.. McClellan had been brainwashed into believing that Benn was shot, and it would be an easy nights work.. This indeed, appeared the case as McClellan set about him early and knocked him through the ropes and onto the judges table mid-way through the 1st.. However, Benn survived and came back to batter McClellan senseless in the 11th round, but tragedy occurred, and McClellan suffered severe injuries as a result.. He ended up blind, brain-damaged and lost most of his hearing after the brutal encounter..
Emanuel Steward once called McClellan, 'The best fighter i've ever trained,' but he is now trapped in a solitary world where there are no more cheers.. He just sits and cries..

WBC conventions are held all over the world, at four-star hotels with first-class air travel and credit cards for Sulaiman's closest flunkies.. There are also attorneys, PR men and a long list of vice-presidents and lifetime board members, but there was no compensation for Gerald McClellan.. Personal pleas made by Randy Gordon, the then chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, were ignored by Sulaiman..

[Dynamite76]

Don did screw Greg Page over, but Greg, in a lot of ways, screwed himself.