Wednesday, 04 December 2024

Don King

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Contributors 2024
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Boxing Promoter
Statistics: Member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
Only in America!

Before Don King got into boxing, he served nearly four years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, which was not the only time he ever had trouble with the law. When he got out, through the help of musician Lloyd Price, he connected with Muhammad Ali.

In King, Ali met someone as charismatic as he was. King crafted a look with his smile and his trademark hair-crown, and he convinced Ali, heavyweight champion, George Foreman, and the government of Zaire to promote the "Rumble in the Jungle," which remains one of the most famous fights of all-time. A year later, King promoted Ali vs. Joe Frazier in the "Thrilla in Manilla," which is also world-renowned.

King continued to promote the elite heavyweights from Larry Holmes to Mike Tyson, and he was arguably a bigger name than most of the boxers he had on his roster. No promoter could ever say that before. However, as they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Boxer after boxer would sue King claiming that he defrauded them out of millions of dollars. Eventually, King was left without any clients, with a reputation that was deservedly ruined. Even with that bold statement, no promoter in the history of sports ever built up a fight better than King could.

Nobody would ever come close.

We are proud to nominate Don King for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

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