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15 Rounds with Steve Kim (January 3, 2005)
As he turned the calendar to a new year, Don King thought he had finalized the first major pay-per-view show of 2005.
"Felix Trinidad was scheduled to fight on March 19th, everything was in order," said King of his Puerto Rican superstar, who was slated to face Winky Wrighton that date at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York. "The site was in order, (as was) the HBO deal - not one to my liking - however I had one more fight with them so I decided I would accept the offer and move forward with it. I got Papa Trinidad to go along and I would guarantee them the money myself in the event that it didn't do as good as HBO thought, by giving me a low ball figure. However I said, 'Let's go with it and start the new year out with a ****.'"
But this being boxing, nothing is quite settled. Least of which is Wright, who is still wavering on his financial demands and is reluctant to fight on that date.
"And then we get to Winky Wright and then Winky Wright is trying to do something, I don't know what Winky Wright's doing, to tell you the truth," admitted King from his offices in Florida. "But anyway, Winky Wright said he wouldn't fight on March 19th and so we're waiting now. We've moved off of March. Papa Trinidad's coming from his vacation, I'll let him know that Winky Wright wouldn't fight on March 19th.
"So either way, we'll have to go with Winky Wright or find another opponent."
King mentions that April 9th is the new date for Trinidad's latest foray into the ring. It'll be interesting to see if Wright and King can come to an agreement. Last year, in the wake of his first victory over Shane Mosley, Wright signed a promotional deal with King (along with everyone else in the sport, it seemed) that guaranteed him $5 million for a fight with Trinidad. King had reportedly begun negotiations for this match-up at $3 million and Wright was looking for something in the neighborhood of around $4 million.
But if Wright doesn't take on 'Tito', then King looks for other options.
"Felix Sturm, is in the offing," says King. "And you got Bernard Hopkins. If he gets through with his mandatory, we'll go right into Bernard Hopkins. We got Oscar De La Hoya. Richard Schaeffer, his man, called me up and said he wanted to do some type of global deal and we're on board for that if he wants to do it. But it's very difficult to believe anything he says, however, I'm not in the business of judging. Judge not, yet ye be judged."
Hopkins is scheduled to face Howard Eastman on February 19th, so the timing may not be right for that particular rematch to take place in April. But what may prevent Hopkins-Trinidad II from taking place is the past history of King and 'The Executioner' and the ongoing arbitration between the two.
But King says those things will not become an impediment to making that fight.
"Absolutely, absolutely, because I feel that 'Tito' deserves an opportunity for revenge," stated King, with conviction. "Bernard Hopkins has a signed contract to fight Felix Trinidad, which he reneged on, along with rejecting every offer that I gave him. And his lawyer was to blame because he interferes and interferes with my right to promote by writing letters to organizations calling for mandatories before they call for mandatories," explained King further, speaking of one Arnold Joseph.
"In other words, he's trying to police the organizations to keep Bernard fighting mandatories, which are political appointees - they're not according to my contract, they're not designated opponents by me."
After Hopkins's career defining win over Trinidad in September of 2001, he would embark on a series of relatively meaningless fights against a collection of mandatory challengers like Carl Daniels, Morrade Hakkar and William Joppy, instead of more high-profile opponents that King preferred.
The crux of the dispute between King and Hopkins is this: just who breached their contractual agreement?
Sources say that King's contract with Hopkins - which was a six-fight, three year deal, that started with the first two fights of the middleweight tournament of 2001- clearly stated that he had the right to designate any opponent of Hopkins at 160 pounds for a minimum of $1.5 million. Any opponent heavier than that had to meet the approval of Hopkins for the same minimum amount.
Hopkins was paid less than those amounts for his fights against Hakkar and Joppy for various reasons (such as Hopkins' insistence on the Hakkar fight taking place in Philadelphia), but only after King's attempts to make other, more attractive bouts fell through.
King says he tried in vain to make fights for Hopkins against the likes of Joe Calzaghe, Sven Ottke, and Ricardo Mayorga, and he attempted to enforce the rematch clause for another Trinidad fight.
"He found some excuse not to fight any of those people and always end up back with a mandatory," says King.
"An opponent designated by me, I will live up to my contract," explained King. "Opponents designated because of some political appointee, I don't even know who these guys are. I was terribly embarrassed with Hakkar as everyone else was - and then you go from Carl Daniels to Hakkar to this one and that one, HBO refusing - and justifiably so - that they weren't going to put up no money for mandatories, but it was a subterfuge on their part because no sooner than he was away from me, they jumped on board with him.
"It's the damnedest thing you've ever seen."
"I really don't understand that, but after they didn't want Bernard under no circumstance, they didn't want him on the network, he was iconoclastic, he was no good - until he left me," said a puzzled King. "Then all of a sudden he becomes a household name for them."
As for De La Hoya, who says he's migrating back down to welterweight, King says 'The Golden Boy' knows where the golden goose resides.
"Oscar knows that 'Tito's a middleweight, Oscar's just playing a game. He's more in line with promotional activities than he is for fighting activities," states King. "Because he got away with that swimming contest he had with Bernard and so he's ahead of the game but he really didn't help his fans. He lost a lot of credibility with his fans.
"However, that is my feeling; my feeling is that if Oscar gets in the ring, we'll go with him tomorrow."
As King looks to finalize an opponent for Trinidad, he still finds himself jostling with HBO. King, who has promoted the Puerto Rican throughout his career, has
one more Trinidad fight to give HBO before their contract expires.
King believes that HBO is trying to play a game of divide and conquer between him and the Trinidads.
"What I see here is a play to forge a wedge between Papa Trinidad and myself," he explains. "By this low ball figure - because they gave me a $10 million guarantee against Mayorga - they say they lost $600,000, which is nothing. If that's the case, because that was just on the preliminary readings, so you know they're going to get that $600,000, they ain't lost no money."
HBO has reportedly offered King a guarantee of $7.5 million for a Wright fight.
"But they go back with Klitschko and lose $3 million. But with me, $300,000, it's the end of the earth. And so I think what they're doing, they know I got a $10 million guarantee to Papa - but that's with opponents I choose, not with opponents Papa chooses," King explains. "Anybody I choose, like Oscar or Bernard, they automatically, you ain't got no questions, they get it.
"A Felix Sturm, they're going to get their guarantee. But if they're going to fight any of these other guys, there's going to be some kind of adjustment made in some kind of way and they got to come to the table. So they're depending on Papa being stubborn and hoping that they play their cards for Papa's emotions," said King, speaking of HBO, "so they can wedge a block and an impediment between me and Papa's relationship."
As he turned the calendar to a new year, Don King thought he had finalized the first major pay-per-view show of 2005.
"Felix Trinidad was scheduled to fight on March 19th, everything was in order," said King of his Puerto Rican superstar, who was slated to face Winky Wrighton that date at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York. "The site was in order, (as was) the HBO deal - not one to my liking - however I had one more fight with them so I decided I would accept the offer and move forward with it. I got Papa Trinidad to go along and I would guarantee them the money myself in the event that it didn't do as good as HBO thought, by giving me a low ball figure. However I said, 'Let's go with it and start the new year out with a ****.'"
But this being boxing, nothing is quite settled. Least of which is Wright, who is still wavering on his financial demands and is reluctant to fight on that date.
"And then we get to Winky Wright and then Winky Wright is trying to do something, I don't know what Winky Wright's doing, to tell you the truth," admitted King from his offices in Florida. "But anyway, Winky Wright said he wouldn't fight on March 19th and so we're waiting now. We've moved off of March. Papa Trinidad's coming from his vacation, I'll let him know that Winky Wright wouldn't fight on March 19th.
"So either way, we'll have to go with Winky Wright or find another opponent."
King mentions that April 9th is the new date for Trinidad's latest foray into the ring. It'll be interesting to see if Wright and King can come to an agreement. Last year, in the wake of his first victory over Shane Mosley, Wright signed a promotional deal with King (along with everyone else in the sport, it seemed) that guaranteed him $5 million for a fight with Trinidad. King had reportedly begun negotiations for this match-up at $3 million and Wright was looking for something in the neighborhood of around $4 million.
But if Wright doesn't take on 'Tito', then King looks for other options.
"Felix Sturm, is in the offing," says King. "And you got Bernard Hopkins. If he gets through with his mandatory, we'll go right into Bernard Hopkins. We got Oscar De La Hoya. Richard Schaeffer, his man, called me up and said he wanted to do some type of global deal and we're on board for that if he wants to do it. But it's very difficult to believe anything he says, however, I'm not in the business of judging. Judge not, yet ye be judged."
Hopkins is scheduled to face Howard Eastman on February 19th, so the timing may not be right for that particular rematch to take place in April. But what may prevent Hopkins-Trinidad II from taking place is the past history of King and 'The Executioner' and the ongoing arbitration between the two.
But King says those things will not become an impediment to making that fight.
"Absolutely, absolutely, because I feel that 'Tito' deserves an opportunity for revenge," stated King, with conviction. "Bernard Hopkins has a signed contract to fight Felix Trinidad, which he reneged on, along with rejecting every offer that I gave him. And his lawyer was to blame because he interferes and interferes with my right to promote by writing letters to organizations calling for mandatories before they call for mandatories," explained King further, speaking of one Arnold Joseph.
"In other words, he's trying to police the organizations to keep Bernard fighting mandatories, which are political appointees - they're not according to my contract, they're not designated opponents by me."
After Hopkins's career defining win over Trinidad in September of 2001, he would embark on a series of relatively meaningless fights against a collection of mandatory challengers like Carl Daniels, Morrade Hakkar and William Joppy, instead of more high-profile opponents that King preferred.
The crux of the dispute between King and Hopkins is this: just who breached their contractual agreement?
Sources say that King's contract with Hopkins - which was a six-fight, three year deal, that started with the first two fights of the middleweight tournament of 2001- clearly stated that he had the right to designate any opponent of Hopkins at 160 pounds for a minimum of $1.5 million. Any opponent heavier than that had to meet the approval of Hopkins for the same minimum amount.
Hopkins was paid less than those amounts for his fights against Hakkar and Joppy for various reasons (such as Hopkins' insistence on the Hakkar fight taking place in Philadelphia), but only after King's attempts to make other, more attractive bouts fell through.
King says he tried in vain to make fights for Hopkins against the likes of Joe Calzaghe, Sven Ottke, and Ricardo Mayorga, and he attempted to enforce the rematch clause for another Trinidad fight.
"He found some excuse not to fight any of those people and always end up back with a mandatory," says King.
"An opponent designated by me, I will live up to my contract," explained King. "Opponents designated because of some political appointee, I don't even know who these guys are. I was terribly embarrassed with Hakkar as everyone else was - and then you go from Carl Daniels to Hakkar to this one and that one, HBO refusing - and justifiably so - that they weren't going to put up no money for mandatories, but it was a subterfuge on their part because no sooner than he was away from me, they jumped on board with him.
"It's the damnedest thing you've ever seen."
"I really don't understand that, but after they didn't want Bernard under no circumstance, they didn't want him on the network, he was iconoclastic, he was no good - until he left me," said a puzzled King. "Then all of a sudden he becomes a household name for them."
As for De La Hoya, who says he's migrating back down to welterweight, King says 'The Golden Boy' knows where the golden goose resides.
"Oscar knows that 'Tito's a middleweight, Oscar's just playing a game. He's more in line with promotional activities than he is for fighting activities," states King. "Because he got away with that swimming contest he had with Bernard and so he's ahead of the game but he really didn't help his fans. He lost a lot of credibility with his fans.
"However, that is my feeling; my feeling is that if Oscar gets in the ring, we'll go with him tomorrow."
As King looks to finalize an opponent for Trinidad, he still finds himself jostling with HBO. King, who has promoted the Puerto Rican throughout his career, has
one more Trinidad fight to give HBO before their contract expires.
King believes that HBO is trying to play a game of divide and conquer between him and the Trinidads.
"What I see here is a play to forge a wedge between Papa Trinidad and myself," he explains. "By this low ball figure - because they gave me a $10 million guarantee against Mayorga - they say they lost $600,000, which is nothing. If that's the case, because that was just on the preliminary readings, so you know they're going to get that $600,000, they ain't lost no money."
HBO has reportedly offered King a guarantee of $7.5 million for a Wright fight.
"But they go back with Klitschko and lose $3 million. But with me, $300,000, it's the end of the earth. And so I think what they're doing, they know I got a $10 million guarantee to Papa - but that's with opponents I choose, not with opponents Papa chooses," King explains. "Anybody I choose, like Oscar or Bernard, they automatically, you ain't got no questions, they get it.
"A Felix Sturm, they're going to get their guarantee. But if they're going to fight any of these other guys, there's going to be some kind of adjustment made in some kind of way and they got to come to the table. So they're depending on Papa being stubborn and hoping that they play their cards for Papa's emotions," said King, speaking of HBO, "so they can wedge a block and an impediment between me and Papa's relationship."
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