Don King - thoughts?

[EireFightFan]

Undeniably one of the most colourful and controversial characters in the sport. The man who used and abused practically every fighter he promoted but who also brought us fights like the Rumble in the Jungle and Thrilla in Manilla.

A cancer on the sport or a necessary evil?

[lefthook31]

to your last sentence,,, both.

Not sure boxing would have become what it has without King. That being said he is one of the least compassionate "businessmen" that has ever walked the earth.
Its amazing how he could steal from and leave fighters destitute but go and hand out turkeys to the homeless. Strange dude really.

[GPater11093]

i ve read interviews saying one thing and then the next about King. I honestly dont know what to think with him. He definitly wasnt a saint but i dont think he was a complete cunt either

[janitor]

A vile human being.

I would not say that he was good for the sport either. He just made the sport good for Don King.

[Napoleon]

Didn't the Klitschko say that they didn't sign with King because when they met him, he started playing to the piano and later they noticed that the piano could play by itself. So they realized he wasn't an honest man cause of that.

Anyone else read this? Maybe it was just a rumor.

[My2Sense]

A cancer on the sport or a necessary evil?

The former. Boxing was around far before Don King was at it will be after him. No need for trash like him in the sport, even if it does happen to bring "good" things to the sport from time to time.

[mcvey]

Undeniably one of the most colourful and controversial characters in the sport. The man who used and abused practically every fighter he promoted but who also brought us fights like the Rumble in the Jungle and Thrilla in Manilla.

A cancer on the sport or a necessary evil?
As a promoter great.As a human being ,an arsehole .

[lefthook31]

Didn't the Klitschko say that they didn't sign with King because when they met him, he started playing to the piano and later they noticed that the piano could play by itself. So they realized he wasn't an honest man cause of that.

Anyone else read this? Maybe it was just a rumor.
:lol: Yeah I heard that one too.

[mcvey]

i ve read interviews saying one thing and then the next about King. I honestly dont know what to think with him. He definitly wasnt a saint but i dont think he was a complete cunt either

Yes he is, read , The Life And Crimes Of Don King by Jack Newfield.

[cris3000]

Didn't the Klitschko say that they didn't sign with King because when they met him, he started playing to the piano and later they noticed that the piano could play by itself. So they realized he wasn't an honest man cause of that.

Anyone else read this? Maybe it was just a rumor.


Lucky for Don King they didn't sign. Imagine what they would've done to Don if he stole their money, Klitschko went mad after that minor political incident few weeks back.

[TBooze]

When King actually had to work he was awesome, his work in the early/mid 90s was IMO the best boxing promotion ever.

[mcvey]

Lucky for Don King they didn't sign. Imagine what they would've done to Don if he stole their money, Klitschko went mad after that minor political incident few weeks back.

As promoters [K2] the Klits have learned a thing or two.
David Haye 's contract stated that in the event of him beating one of them he had to give him an immediate return ,then should he beat him again he had to fight the other brother in his next defence.So he had to sign for three fights,one as a challenger and two as a defending champion ,while they got two more chances at the title, plus three big paydays.Iron Fist might not just refer to power :lol:

[turpinr]

i ve read interviews saying one thing and then the next about King. I honestly dont know what to think with him. He definitly wasnt a saint but i dont think he was a complete cunt eitheri've only ever read that king is a cunt.i think even king would say he's a cunt.

[Shake]

A piece of shit.

[sugarsean]

When King actually had to work he was awesome, his work in the early/mid 90s was IMO the best boxing promotion ever.

I agree with this, but he is very untrustworthy

[PowerPuncher]

His contracts always tried to rip the fighters off and leave them with little to nothing, if you read the contract and demanded clauses were taken out he'd do it but he would try to pull the fast 1. Don King is a cunt but hes not the first and not the last to rip fighters off, its what most promoters are in the business of.

Was it Corrales contract with Goosen (I could be getting names mixed up) that saw him retire with practically nothing and when Corrales was leaving to try and get paid properly he was thrown in with Clottey a huge WW for Corrales first fight at that weight. That was a spitefull move that may have contributed to Corrales death

[Stevie G]

He was good for boxing as a spectacle. Bad for boxers. My favourite story about King was when he was trying to muscle in on the Ali-Berbick fight. After ignoring warnings to keep his brillo pad hairdo out,he got his head kicked in by Nation Of Islam members. Could n't have happened to a nicer guy !

[turpinr]

He was good for boxing as a spectacle. Bad for boxers. My favourite story about King was when he was trying to muscle in on the Ali-Berbick fight. After ignoring warnings to keep his brillo pad hairdo out,he got his head kicked in by Nation Of Islam members. Could n't have happened to a nicer guy !i've read about that.it was f****ng funny:lol:

[TheGreatA]

Read pages 13-30:

[Only registered and activated users can see links]=onepage&q=&f=false

[Shake]

Read pages 13-30:

[Only registered and activated users can see links]=onepage&q=&f=false

Thanks for this. Seems I didn't fully appreciate what level of scumbag King was on. He is a murderer and a gangster.

This sport needs a controlling body to keep it out of the hands of promoters and "businessmen".

[flamengo]

Tough Question....

Could you please specify if you'd like POSITIVE or NEGATIVE thoughts..

[Shake]

I'd like some positive thoughts.

[lefthook31]

Okay, he brought boxing to the mainstream as a sport. He revolutionized the pay scale in boxing. He put on some of the biggest matchups in history, including the heavyweight unification series, Tyson Holyfield, Lewis Holyfield, DLH Trinidad, Chavez Taylor, Whitaker, Camacho, etc.
During the lull of heavyweight action in the mid 90's his two marathon cards featuring Jackson Mclellan, Nelson Leija, Chavez Randall, and Norris Brown, were probably the best stacked fight cards in the history of the sport.
The negative part is a neverending story.

[Vantage_West]

another innterestign story.

o9wSNe0STKM

about mid way^^^
6NenREPP0e8





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[mcvey]

He was good for boxing as a spectacle. Bad for boxers. My favourite story about King was when he was trying to muscle in on the Ali-Berbick fight. After ignoring warnings to keep his brillo pad hairdo out,he got his head kicked in by Nation Of Islam members. Could n't have happened to a nicer guy !
Don King was beaten up in his hotel by paid thugs several teeth were knocked out and his nose was damaged ,probably broken, it was beleived to be as a result of muscling in on the local promoter Cornelius,nothing to do with the Nation Of Islam .

[junior-soprano]

A piece of shit.


i agree.
i think the only intrest of don king is don king. and don king making money.

[sweetsci]

Boxing WAS a mainstream sport until the 1990's. Title fights were regularly held in stadiums, broadcast on prime-time free network TV, and the average man on the street could name several champions. Not anymore, thanks in large part to Don King.

As I said in another thread, King killed the golden goose that was boxing. By encouraging (forcing?) sanctioning bodies to corrupt their rankings, by encouraging multiple title-holders per division, by forcing title strippings, by repeatedly cheating fighters, and simply by a huge lack of foresight, King made himself rich while severely damaging boxing.

Imagine if King used his money, resources, and power in an honest way... I strongly believe boxing would still be a mainstream sport, there would be A LOT more money to go around, and King himself would be more wealthy than he already is.

Despite some great fights he put on over the years, if Don King had never become involved with boxing, boxing would be in a lot better shape today.

[lefthook31]

King was not responsible for pulling boxing out of the mainstream. Closed circuit was a way for people to see the fights the networks wouldnt pay for. HBO and SHowtime are the ones who started the whole PPV crap, and what has ulitmately taken boxing away from the mainstream.
There just wasnt enough interest for the major networks or the secondary networks to keep boxing going.
It went from local tv, to cable (USA network, ESPN), to solely PPV HBO and Showtime. USA and ESPN dropped it because of the lack of advertising dollars. Companies didnt want to advertise during boxing telecasts.
HBO and SHowtime can support broadcasting boxing because of their membership and because the promoters share in the expense.

[goat15]

Didn't the Klitschko say that they didn't sign with King because when they met him, he started playing to the piano and later they noticed that the piano could play by itself. So they realized he wasn't an honest man cause of that.

Anyone else read this? Maybe it was just a rumor.

man that's funny :lol:

[Swarmer]

i heard his cackle during alexander-mathysse. terrifying

i wonder if that's the last sound a lot of men have heard...

[he grant]

King is an exceptionally bright, tremendously hard working man ... he is self made in the truest sense of the word. He came from nothing and dominated a sport, smashing racial barriers and rewriting the game ... however mostly forgotten today is how ruthless he was in the 70's, 80's and 90's, how many rules he broke, how many people he robbed blindly and how many lives he crushed ... a very complex figure, extremely talented but not exactly someone to praise for his ethics ... then again, in the fight game very few are ...

[Duodenum]

Ultimately, boxing fell out of the mainstream during the watch of King and Arum. It's not a terrific legacy that the sport became a niche interest under the movers and shakers overseeing boxing during the 1980s and 1990s. Frazier and Holmes say they aren't sure who their modern successors are. Has this happened in the past with former HW Champions now being able to identify modern titleholders?

[Boilermaker]

lAs a promoter great.As a human being ,an arsehole .

is he really that "great" as a promoter, as is accepted around here?

He came in (on my understanding) when boxing was huge through Ali and its great history. He did well for a while, but then he was largely responsible, as the main promoter for allowing fractured title belts, and promoting a situation where a fighter would need to take no chances when learning and on the up and be presented as undefeated when challenging for a title. Because he had to always have the champion, he allowed the fractured organisations to grow on his belief (which is absolute rubbish) that a paper title would make fighters more marketable.

obviously he made a lot of money, but who wouldnt if they were lucky enough to stumble into his situation. I would say this is more good luck than good management, though he has done a few things right. Eventually, he, as the main promoter and with a virtual monopoly, he has been largely responsible for putting us in the position we are now, and he has lead the sport to the stage where we are now.

[janitor]

Ultimately, boxing fell out of the mainstream during the watch of King and Arum. It's not a terrific legacy that the sport became a niche interest under the movers and shakers overseeing boxing during the 1980s and 1990s. Frazier and Holmes say they aren't sure who their modern successors are. Has this happened in the past with former HW Champions now being able to identify modern titleholders?

That is the thing about people who think Don King was a positive force.

They see the few good things that happened.

They are blind to the universe of things that didn't happen!

[Armstrong!]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Yes, a Don King mugshot.

[leverage]

A dirty, rotten low-down bastard who mistreated his fighters. He was someone that the sport of boxing definitely could have done without, regardless of the fights that he promoted.

[BUDW]

Scum Bag

[Mendoza]

Undeniably one of the most colourful and controversial characters in the sport. The man who used and abused practically every fighter he promoted but who also brought us fights like the Rumble in the Jungle and Thrilla in Manilla.

A cancer on the sport or a necessary evil?

Boxing has too many parasites to count. But King seemed to eat up other parasites, and organize the fighters. This allowed the fans to see some top level fights. King was pretty much out of top options by the 2000's. But in the 70's, 80's, and 90's he and Bob Arum were the top two power brokers in the sport. As much as I hate to say it, Don King made boxing relevant by keeping the publics interest.

[Marvelous_MNH]

Don King only ever did things that were good for Don King, not the sport of boxing, not the fighters and certainly not the fans!

[Saintpat]

I think Don's "evilness" is overrated.

Fighters signed with him because they wanted to, not because they had to. And most of the ones who complain the most made more money with King than they ever did or would have without him.

I've asked this before: Can anyone pinpoint for me a timeline for when King stopped being the most important promotional force in the sport. He all but controlled boxing for at least a couple of decades, then he suddenly wasn't terribly relevant. How and why did this happen?

[Bobby Sinn]

A vile human being.

I would not say that he was good for the sport either. He just made the sport good for Don King.


:deal


Will smile when the cunt drops dead.

[johnmaff36]

The greatest self-promoter since P.T. Barnum. At one time could sell sand to the Arabs.

Also a bully and a manipulater, loathsome + greedy with the morals of a rattlesnake.

Not a nice individual

[Bogotazo]

Didn't the man get away with murder?

[johnmaff36]

I think Don's "evilness" is overrated.

Fighters signed with him because they wanted to, not because they had to. And most of the ones who complain the most made more money with King than they ever did or would have without him.

I've asked this before: Can anyone pinpoint for me a timeline for when King stopped being the most important promotional force in the sport. He all but controlled boxing for at least a couple of decades, then he suddenly wasn't terribly relevant. How and why did this happen?
Fighters signed with him because if they didnt, they would be froze out of the picture. Some reckoned that a small amount of something is better than a whole lot of nothing.

With respect, have you read jack neufields book on King? His 'evilness' is most certainly not overated. A complete cunt of a person for what he did to people

[ATP]

I detest Don King, Boxing would have evolved even without him, strip away all the crap & all he truly cared about was himself, not the welfare of his boxers...

Fuck Don King & everything about him.....When hes dead i'l happily take a Piss on his grave.....Take that however you want it....I hope hes reading this :good

[Vince Voltage]

A textbook narcisisist.

[Shake]

Yes he is, read , The Life And Crimes Of Don King by Jack Newfield.

Don King is a murderer and a crook. Nothing redeeming about the man.

[Bobby Sinn]

An Aussie, based in the USA, recieved a contract & accompanying letter from King.

In short, King tried to butter up to the Aussie with some sweet words and bountiful promises in the letter.

The Aussie drew a 'smiley' face on the contract and sent it back. Hahaha.

To hell with King.

[johnmaff36]

An Aussie, based in the USA, recieved a contract & accompanying letter from King.

In short, King tried to butter up to the Aussie with some sweet words and bountiful promises in the letter.

The Aussie drew a 'smiley' face on the contract and sent it back. Hahaha.

To hell with King.
Ha ha! He was lucky to have words to read on the contract. Some of Kings contracts have had no writing whatsoever on them. A case of sign now and we'll fill in the blanks as we go along

[Azzer85]

Tyson stated DOn King would sell his own mother for a dollar.

And then Tyson beat the shit out of him outside some hotel