Don King – Still Causing Headaches in Boxing, But Not the Big Fights
Don King turns 94 later this month, yet he is still involved, at least somewhat, in the sport he once dominated as a promoter for decades. But King, unlike his one-time nemesis Bob Arum, no longer works with any of the sport’s elite fighter or the big names. Instead, King has mostly been preventing much smaller fights from happening these last few years or so.
King has taken fighters such as Mahmoud Charr to court for attempting to take fights he didn’t want them to take, and King is now in the midst of yet another legal battle; this one with Michael Hunter. As fans may have read, Hunter was recently announced as fighting Jarrell Miller in Las Vegas on September 11, the fight to take place during Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight week. But King, who says he has a “legal and binding contract” with Hunter, has issued a cease and desist order to SELA and TKO Group Holdings, Inc, which would have promoted the fight.
In May, King won the WBA purse bid for a fight between Hunter and Kubrat Pulev, the bout to contest a version of the WBA heavyweight title, and he is adamant that this is the fight Hunter will take, not the Miller fight.
Why Don King Is Blocking Hunter vs. Miller
“They continue to disobey the WBA and its clear directive on the Pulev-Hunter championship fight,” King said in a press release. “Hunter is under contract to Don King Productions and he’ll be fighting for a world championship.”
Let’s see how this, King’s latest in a long line of court battles, ends up. Miller, if he does see the Hunter fight fall apart, will be back on the hunt for a fight; “Big Baby” having seen fights with Fabio Wardley, Jared Anderson and, Miller says, Deontay Wilder, fail to come off this year.
The Legacy That Refuses to Quit…
But back to King, just what has kept him in the game so very long? Arum we know still loves to be around the biggest and the best fights, and he still promotes them. King is now a mere shadow of the all devouring boxing promoter he once was. Yet he’s still seeing to it that certain fighters remain on the shelf for far too long, unable to take any fight King himself does not wish to see them take. King doesn’t need the money, but the small number of fighters who are contracted to him do. King hasn’t promoted a big, big fight in years, but his influence in the sport remains at a lower, you could say nagging level.
Poor Michael Hunter, is pretty much all we can say here.