Don King... good or bad for boxing?

[SBleeder]

Has Don King's influence on boxing been overall positive or negative?

The general consensus seems to be that he is a blight on boxing. That his presence in the sport has been detrimental to fighters, fans, and just about everyone else involved in boxing. He is an incredibly conniving man, even for a promoter.

But, on the flip side, King made a lot of great fights happen. And usually in a timely manner.

One could argue that those fights would have happened anyways; I disagree. He had enough influence to bring both fighters to a table... even though he was figuratively picking their pockets while they say at that table.

And even if those big fights- Foreman/Ali were eventually going to happen, Don was still the guy who made them happen.

To put it another way: Someone- either the USA or the USSR was going to get to the Moon first. It was inevitable. But the United States made it happen. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon. The fact that the Soviets would have gotten there anyway doesn't negate NASA's achievement.

Thoughts?

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Great for boxing


Not so good for fighters..




Don king brought us so many stacked cards and great fights, it's foolish to think he was bad for the sport.

[billeau2]

Sugar has the right idea for sure... I mean with all due respect when you see the **** they put together these days and ask money for... King did put on decent cards. He was a horrible guy except there are some caveats.

King has never been shy about his true nature. he is was and always will be, while sucking oxygen, a criminal, a real sociopath with psychopathic tendencies. Its worth it to really read this guy's story because he came out of a real hard scrabble den of thieves....on top, starting as a numbers runner, which is kind of like becoming the owner of the French Laundry Restaurant when starting as the dishwasher.

Some of the most violent felons tried to get rid of King and he managed to fight them off...in that world he was actually a sympathetic character. The Cleveland King came up in featured a ***ish old school psychopath who wanted a piece of all the action (Dutch Schultz), an Irish mobster who started a new trend....killing by firebombing entire fvking buildings and cars... and many others, including the Italian mafia coming in...and King was targeted by most of them at one time or another, beat two raps (most people know about those), and eventually used those skills to do his thing.

I hate King for what he did to fighters. I hate him for his violence, including for killing people who were half his size. I hate him for his bullying and for his nepotism...unlike King his children were not unprincipled cunning thugs, they were unprincipled idiots.

But King was very smart! He matched Arum at every turn with little of the formal education or backing Arum had. And King actually appreciates that in America a thug and sociopath can live the American Dream...Hey don't laugh its a known fact that Mac founder Steve Jobs was a psychopath... its true. KING is unapologetic about it! I have a begrudging respect for his intelligence, cunning and nerve. He did put on great boxing shows and never shrunk from the monster who he is/was.

Heres the difference: oscar is so handsome, so cute, all the little ladies love him (my wife always asked when he would fight)...But Oscar is as big a scvmbag as King, and we never see the pretty boy's face caked with blow, though we did see the stockings...You would never see King that way, he had nothing to hide...he was a scumbag and America had given him license! King never hid behind a pretty face! Evil man who was what he was, a criminal using legal means to take everything he could from anyone he could... and the fighters were the victims.

[OctoberRed]

Like someone said earlier, great for boxing, but most of his issues have been behind the scenes with boxers.

[rightsideup]

I think he was bad for boxing he basically keep the image of the red light district of sports going. He always seemed to have a connection beyond promoter to the fighters. He was bad for the fighters bank accounts. I am glad he never was successful in having a piece of hearns, leonard and hagler. Duran was much better off when he left him.

[OctoberRed]

I actually read somewhere that King is regarded as one of biggest innovators and influences to what we know as the modern era of boxing.

[billeau2]

I actually read somewhere that King is regarded as one of biggest innovators and influences to what we know as the modern era of boxing.

October that is a known fact beyond dispute. What is in dispute is if the Sesame Street Puppet from Henson, Roosevelt Franklin was based on King, or not.

[BigGeorge]

I would be lying if I said he would be bad for boxing. He has produced some great fights over the years. A lot of his problems come from the fighters, behind the scenes.

[just the facts]

Has Don King's influence on boxing been overall positive or negative?

The general consensus seems to be that he is a blight on boxing. That his presence in the sport has been detrimental to fighters, fans, and just about everyone else involved in boxing. He is an incredibly conniving man, even for a promoter.

But, on the flip side, King made a lot of great fights happen. And usually in a timely manner.

One could argue that those fights would have happened anyways; I disagree. He had enough influence to bring both fighters to a table... even though he was figuratively picking their pockets while they say at that table.

And even if those big fights- Foreman/Ali were eventually going to happen, Don was still the guy who made them happen.

To put it another way: Someone- either the USA or the USSR was going to get to the Moon first. It was inevitable. But the United States made it happen. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon. The fact that the Soviets would have gotten there anyway doesn't negate NASA's achievement.

Thoughts?

I have mixed opinions. On one hand King ****ed nearly every fighter he had signed. Even Tyson and Chavez Sr. Poor Tim Witherspoon went to England as the WBA champ to defend vs Frank Bruno. Bruno took home 600K and after King took his cut Spoon took home 90K as the champ and winner. On the other hand, I sure miss those PPVs with five or six championship fights on them.

[The Old LefHook]

When you are screwing your fighters you can put on some great shows with their money. Just because you put on some good fights this way, does that mean you have been good for boxing. He was only good for boxing if you ignore all the damage he did and all the slime he coated its reputation with. Oscar is indeed a slime ball, too, but he was not out there personally killing off the opposition by shootings and slamming their faces into concrete curbs.

When practically every fan knows that pure feces is spread all over the sport they always proclaim loudly to love, I do not see that as being good for it, just because some good fights are made in the process. We all know why he was able to make such fights. No matter how much we approved of some of the matchmaking and its entertainment value, it seems ridiculous to proclaim him good for boxing. His kind always leaves the sport in the doldrums for an extended period, just as it is now.