22.04.07 – By Scoop Malinowski: Don King and Ray Austin taunted IBF Heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko with their words leading up to the IBF Heavyweight championship fight last month. In unison, they questioned the Ukrainian’s heart, chin, stamina and cojones. But when it came time to put up or shut up, Klitschko conquered his outspoken critics in style with a perfect quadruple left hook which ended the IBF/Marian Muhammad-forced mismatch with devastating vehemence. Austin and King then fled Mannheim, Germany with their tails between their legs, skipping the post-fight press conference and a chance to praise Klitschko for a remarkable job well done..
So now King is out there again, doing his very worst to attack Klitschko. Having failed to bring down Wladimir, now King seems to be focusing on going after the comebacking former WBC champion Vitali Klitschko.
Let’s take a look at and correct some of King’s latest anti-Klitschko propoganda:
King: “What they (Team Klitschko) did is they played a game of duplicity, treachery and nefarious activity. That fight (Vitali vs. Maskaev) should have never been contemplated.”
Rebuttal: Note how King talks about Vitali’s completely reasonable actions almost as if he committed murder or something.
The WBC designated Vitali WBC champ Emeritus in late 2005 and promised him an automatic title fight if he decided to return to the ring at any time. Jim Jeffries was off for six years before the ill-fated challenge of Jack Johnson in 1910. Ali was off for two years before the Holmes fight for the WBC title. Don King’s very own former heavyweight Mike Tyson was away from boxing for almost four years when the WBC installed the convicted rapist as the no. 1 contender. So Mr. King, Vitali accepting the promise made by your good friends at the WBC was not a game of “duplicity, treachery and nefarious activity”, as you say. It was totally fair and logical to accept that promise from Jose Sulaiman.
King: “(Vitali) lost that title by his body falling apart. Four injuries came after the other consecutively, he decided then it was best for his health that he should not fight for the world heavyweight title (vs. Hasim Rahman). He relinquished the title and walked away. Now it’s cruel and inhumane punishment to put a man like that back in the ring after a three-year layoff without him fighting or being tested to see of his fragile body could withstand the rigors of strenuous training activity.”
Rebuttal: But Mr. King, it sure was okay to put the 38-year-old Muhammad Ali in the ring against Larry Holmes in the 1980 horrible mismatch you promoted, right? And if Vitali is so fragile, why did you never not once try to make your pawn champions Ruiz, Brewster or Byrd try to unify with Vitali?
King: “This would add a black eye to boxing and total destruction to an organization that would sanction such a cruel and inhumane situation. So I think now it’s working itself out to be what it’s supposed to be. That he’s now backing off again, still with the anticipation and the hope that he can come back in another time. There’s two flaws to both of these things. The heavyweight division is discombobulated; it truly needs to fight each one of their champions so that we can find one undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, one that the public can relate and identify with. If we don’t do that we’re all making a mockery of the sport.”
Rebuttal: Massive hypocrisy here. Mr. King, you had many chances but prevented your pawns from being destroyed by Vitali Klitschko when he was knocking everyone out as the former WBC champ. And you have made no attempts to unify with former WBO Liakhovich or former WBA Valuev against Wladimir. In fact, several insiders insist you are the one who is secretly preventing unification because you want options on Klitschko.
King: “…it’s better that Vitali doesn’t come back into the ring. Because he already stated categorically that he wouldn’t fight his brother. That would, therefore, be another stalling tactic. (If) you bring both of the Klitschkos in (into the four title thrones – was this a Freudian slip by King?), then when it gets down to the nitty gritty, you aren’t going to get a (unification) fight…I think it would be a disgrace, it would be despicable for the WBC to sanction a fight with this guy. For him to just get right out there and see if he can do it.”
Rebuttal: That sounded almost like marching orders to Jose. Now, why Mr. King, did you not decry Ali getting sanctioned by the WBC to fight Holmes at age 38 when his speech was obviously slurring? To witness the Klitschko brothers actually winning the four heavyweight titles would be one of the most amazing and miraculous stories in the history of boxing and sport, period. Imagine two Ukrainian doctors standing together atop the world heavyweight championship throne. Actually, most boxing fans believe they can do it, (just like the wonderful Williams sisters Venus and Serena did it in tennis). What a magical story. Even Sylvester Stallone could not have imagined making such an unlikely script. And Mr. King, with all due respect, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for all the “despicable and disgraceful” politricking you have committed to block the Klitschkos from fighting for the titles (i.e. trying to prevent Vitali, as former WBA and WBC mandatory, from getting title shots against Jones and Lewis when they were the champs, and leapfrogging the undeserving DaVarryl Williamson over Wladimir into the IBF no. 1 ranking).
If the Klitschkos win the titles, it will create tremendous positive buzz about the sport, which might hopefully help erase the current dark images of corruption associated with boxing, such as crooked managers, cheating promoters, inept officiating, set-up fights, etc. Succeed or fail, people would talk about the Klitschkos for the rest of history. Could the two brothers actually do it? It’s a monumental point of time in heavyweight history. And Mr. King, if you continue to try to block the Klitschko’s, in any more ways, from achieving their lifelong dream over the next 24 months, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Right now boxing needs the glory and excitement of a heavyweight unification tournament – which includes the exciting KO power of former champ Vitali Klitschko, who has been promised a title shot from Jose Sulaiman.
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