Don King

[-Kev-]

King is a snake in a world filled with snakes. He's scum but he didn't make boxing any more sleazy or corrupt than it was previously. Ever read about Jim Norris, Frankie Carbo, and the IBC?

Can't knock the PPVs he's put on, especially the ones in the 90s. They were great. Fighters worked with him because he's been such a major figure in boxing and it's difficult to reach the level they want without a King or Arum or DLH being involved.

Oh, that "Soapy" thing was a joke article. That writer, Zeferino Jackson, writes bizarre (but hilarious) articles with gems such as "George Foreman lost to Ali because he was too tired from having a lot of **** sex with hookers sent by Ali", "Watch Michael Jackson in the Beat It video and you can tell he would have made a great fighter", and "Oscar got the Golden Boy nickname by peeing on people he'd beaten up and hated blacks because blacks were responsible for the death of his pet rat Gonzo".

Lol that's hilarious.

[-Kev-]

I'm into Don things, Don Don, Donna Karren, Don Cornelious, Don King - Cam'ron

[TintaBoricua]

Regardless of the opinion has of Don King, you have to give it to him. He's one of the few individuals who can be considered iconic in America. You put up a vague picture of bad hair that looks like it's been burnt and you'll immediately think of "that bombastic black guy who makes up words on the fly". Don King is funny sometimes.

[edgarg]

King is a snake in a world filled with snakes. He's scum but he didn't make boxing any more sleazy or corrupt than it was previously. Ever read about Jim Norris, Frankie Carbo, and the IBC?

Can't knock the PPVs he's put on, especially the ones in the 90s. They were great. Fighters worked with him because he's been such a major figure in boxing and it's difficult to reach the level they want without a King or Arum or DLH being involved.

Oh, that "Soapy" thing was a joke article. That writer, Zeferino Jackson, writes bizarre (but hilarious) articles with gems such as "George Foreman lost to Ali because he was too tired from having a lot of **** sex with hookers sent by Ali", "Watch Michael Jackson in the Beat It video and you can tell he would have made a great fighter", and "Oscar got the Golden Boy nickname by peeing on people he'd beaten up and hated blacks because blacks were responsible for the death of his pet rat Gonzo".

Thank goodness that I grew up in an age when "joke" and "hilarious" really meant what they said. I just can't take to the new "humour" which, to me, is nothing more than collections of foul mouthed obscenities by creatures that people in a better better era would have grabbed by the neck and thrown out the door, accompanied by a solid kick in the behind..

Why people have to resort to obscenites even in everyday language, is beyond me and just reflects the degeneration and crudity of our society. In earlier years, even the more basic people had more respect for themselves than to act like that, and only the lowest and most degraded individuals who couldn't fall any lower, resorted to crude foul-mouthedness.

And we were just as keen boxing enthusiasts as there are today, even keener, and there were hge numbers more than today. Boxing was prominently on every newspapr sportspage.

Sorry, that's just the way I am.

[Dubblechin]

I have no intention of taking part in a dispute about such a piece of Drek as Don King and must respectfully bow out. You do not accept facts and I can't make you. And, in fact I have no reason to want to make you. I can only say that I'm surprised that a 47 year old man can look at Don King's record in busines and approve, because he used to put on good boxing shows. The fact that most of them didn't get the money they'd signed for seems immaterial. He's swindled everyone he's been able to, and when the going gets hot, he settles for a lump sum out of court, like Mike Tyson's $14 mill. What about Ali's $1.2 miil calim which he settled for #40,000 byb getting an Ali close friend to approach him WITH THE MONEY when Ali was very ill in hospital, and "talk" to him. What about Larry Holmes mess, what about Tim Witherspoon's tragis story. And this is all only the tip of the iceberg. I'm surprised, but you yourself chose what you want to think.

When Don King comes up, everyone says what about when he shorted Ali of $1 million?

First, I'm not making excuses for Don King.

But Muhammad Ali got paid $7.1 million in 1980 to land "at the most" five punches against Larry Holmes. What is that in today's dollars? $30 or $40 million? That fight was a travesty BECAUSE of Muhammad Ali. His performance against Holmes made Audley Harrison against Haye look like Arturo Gatti.

If the Las Vegas commission had any balls, they would've held Ali's purse due to non-effort pending an investigation (like the British Boxing Board of Control did with Harrison). And King actually paid him $7 million. Ali said he was supposed to get $8 million, and King sent one of Ali's friends over with $100,000 in cash to call it even ... and Ali took it.

Frankly, he was WAY overpaid. He's lucky the Las Vegas commission didn't take it all from him, but he was a legend so they let him get by. I actually attended the closed circuit broadcast of that fight with my dad, and NOBODY left that arena thinking Ali earned his money.

And for every instance of an ALI getting shorted, I can give you ten instance of guys fighting for King who got way overpaid -- including the million-plus Devon Alexander got against Timothy Bradley and Lucas Matthysse this year.

In a career that spans nearly 40 years, all people ever bring up are Ali against Holmes, Witherspoon, and Tyson (who made more than $100 million fighting for King, sued King and got tens of millions more when he felt King shorted him on some fights ... and after all that, Tyson signed with Shelley Finkel, made tens of millions more, and filed for Bankruptcy ... where did all the money Tyson made with Finkel go? He blew that, just like the money he made with King.)

Whatever. I stick up for Don King because people paint him as some arch villain. But out of the 100 fighters he made millionaires, and the hundreds more he gave shots to, nobody mentions them, just a couple three or four that had a legit gripe against him.

My point is, nobody has anything nice to say about any promoter they ever fought for. But Don King has done more for more fighters than any other promoter in the sport's history.

Nobody can name another promoter who did more for fighters than he has.

When Gerald McClellan got brain damage, King paid his hospital bills and his rehab -- along with some donations from Roy Jones. Meanwhile, Emanuel Steward, who McCellan dumped right before that fight with Benn, fought in court to get "his cut" from McClellan's purse while Gerald was in a freaking coma.

But Emanuel Steward is viewed as some saint, while he's suing a guy in coma, and King's paying the guy's medical bills (and he's evil). But who cares ... what about the money he didn't give Ali for his non-effort.

[Money Shot]

I assume if a fighter signs a contract with King he'll honour it, if you sign a sh itty contract he'll honour that as well. That's not King's problem you signed a sh itty contract.

[*Khan]

The man could sell water to a well.

[*Khan]

I'm into Don things, Don Don, Donna Karren, Don Cornelious, Don King - Cam'ron

That mofo makes words up just to rhyme, lol.

[cupocity303]

1) He's still one of, if not, the most popular figure in boxing.

2) He entangled/entangles himself in such a web that it takes time for him to be ousted.

If his fighter has a title, he has to be given options on the opponent for voluntary defenses, in the case of his boxer losing. Cloud-Pascal didn't get made because of this one point of disagreement. Either that or a fighter would have to sign or be co-promoted by him to actually get a fight. He spent the 80s and 90s scheduling inhouse fights and forcing contract extensions.

3) He's in bed with the sanctioning organizations, so he'll get you a high ranking without a fight inside the ring and he can keep you from getting one also.

This. Hence why guys like Floyd don't need him. Sanctioning bodies are becoming less relevant. King had nothing to offer Floyd, besides the idea that with King's name attached to Floyd's, he would be making Mike Tyson money.

Supposedly he tried to impress The Klitschko brothers into signing with him, by showing them a lot of cash, and telling them that is their one and only chance to get it, but they didn't bite unlike other Poor, uneducated Up and Coming Fighters. (Sidenote: Delahoya used this trick on Pacquiao, into signing with Goldenboy, and he did while still signed to Top Rank LOL).

In other words, he is a smart hustler but he has lost his commodities like Tyson, and would need another one in order to have any sort of bargaining power, into signing more Big Time fighters. The few fighters that he still does have, get nothing but inactivity, and when they do fight, they get a moderate payday. All he can do at this point, is attract low profile fighters without many Amateur accolades, who may or may not have Talent, into a long term contract and hope that they turn out to be Great.

As far as being an active Promoter like Golden Boy and others, he sucks.

[Dubblechin]

This. Hence why guys like Floyd don't need him. Sanctioning bodies are becoming less relevant. King had nothing to offer Floyd, besides the idea that with King's name attached to Floyd's, he would be making Mike Tyson money.

Supposedly he tried to impress The Klitschko brothers into signing with him, by showing them a lot of cash, and telling them that is their one and only chance to get it, but they didn't bite unlike other Poor, uneducated Up and Coming Fighters. (Sidenote: Delahoya used this trick on Pacquiao, into signing with Goldenboy, and he did while still signed to Top Rank LOL).

In other words, he is a smart hustler but he has lost his commodities like Tyson, and would need another one in order to have any sort of bargaining power, into signing more Big Time fighters. The few fighters that he still does have, get nothing but inactivity, and when they do fight, they get a moderate payday. All he can do at this point, is attract low profile fighters without many Amateur accolades, who may or may not have Talent, into a long term contract and hope that they turn out to be Great.

As far as being an active Promoter like Golden Boy and others, he sucks.

The only reason why Don King isn't still on top is HBO signed a deal with Golden Boy to give them a mountain of air dates. And that's not only come back to bite them in the butt, it cost the head of their boxing programming his job.

Now that the guy from Showtime has taken over at HBO, he'll employ the model he used at Showtime and just agree to show good fights ... not the fighters of specific promoters.

And Golden Boy will come crashing down. Fighters only sign with them because they have HBO dates.

You can pin this ... without HBO throwing money at them ... they'll file for bankruptcy within three years. Without the dates, they're just a company led by a cross-dressing coke addict. And then all the fighters will start expressing their "true' feelings about Golden Boy.