Don King: the promoter behind the Rumble and the Thrilla | Ultimate Boxing Reunion

Why fans still care

DON KING’s name keeps coming up when people talk about the great heavyweight fights of the 1970s and 1980s. He took a world title fight to Africa, staged the third Ali and Frazier fight in the Philippines, and promoted the heavyweight champions from Larry Holmes to Mike Tyson.

He sold fights as events, with the hair, the catchphrase and the guarantees to match. People have argued about him for 50 years, and he is still one of the most recognisable faces in boxing.

Early life

He was born on 20 August 1931 in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in the city’s housing projects, raised by his mother, Hattie. He spent a year at Case Western Reserve University and then ran a numbers operation in Cleveland. In 1966 he killed a gambling associate who owed him money. His conviction was reduced to manslaughter, he served almost four years, and he was released in 1971. Ohio’s governor, James Rhodes, pardoned him in January 1983.

Into boxing

His start in promotion was a benefit night. According to the Congressional Record, he asked Muhammad Ali, Who’s Who number 33 to box an exhibition to help save Cleveland’s Forest City Hospital, which was facing closure. Two years later he was promoting Ali for the heavyweight title.

Career chapters

1. 1931Born in Cleveland
2. 1972Persuades Ali to box a benefit for Forest City Hospital
3. 1974The Rumble in the Jungle, Kinshasa
4. 1975The Thrilla in Manila
5. 1980Holmes v Ali, Caesars Palace
6. 1982Holmes v Cooney, Caesars Palace
7. 1983Pardoned by Ohio’s governor
8. 1988Tyson v Spinks, Atlantic City
9. 1997Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
10. 2026Turns 95

The Rumble in the Jungle 1974

He had Muhammad Ali, Who’s Who number 33 and George Foreman, Who’s Who number 35 each sign for a $5 million guarantee before he had the money. Zaire’s president, Mobutu Sese Seko, then put up the $10 million on condition that the fight was held in Zaire. On 30 October 1974 at the Stade du 20 Mai in Kinshasa, Ali knocked Foreman out in round 8.

The Thrilla in Manila 1975

On 1 October 1975 he promoted the third fight between Ali and Joe Frazier, Who’s Who number 32 at the Araneta Coliseum, which had 16,500 seats, according to Sports Illustrated. The fight started at 10:45 am local time for American TV. Ali boxed well early, Frazier took over in the middle rounds as the heat wore Ali down, and Ali staggered him in rounds 12 and 13. Frazier’s trainer, Eddie Futch, stopped it after round 14.

The Holmes years 1978 to 1985

Larry Holmes, Who’s Who number 19 was King’s heavyweight champion from 1978. Don King Productions promoted Holmes against Ali at Caesars Palace on 2 October 1980, Ali’s last big title fight, which ended when Ali’s corner stopped it after round 10. On 11 June 1982, again at Caesars Palace, Holmes stopped Gerry Cooney in round 13.

The Tyson years 1988 and after

On 27 June 1988 in Atlantic City, Mike Tyson, Who’s Who number 34 knocked out Michael Spinks at 1:31 of round 1. King co-promoted the fight with Butch Lewis. According to Boxing Insider the live gate was $13 million, and Tyson earned $22 million to Spinks’s $13.5 million.

In 1994, after Oliver McCall and Bruce Seldon won heavyweight titles, King had the division back under his banner, according to the Congressional Record.

How he promoted

Selling the fight

He made the fight an event before anyone threw a punch. The Rumble showed his method: sign the fighters to big guarantees first, then find a sponsor, in that case a government, to pay for it. In Manila the fight started in the morning. With Tyson he worked alongside another promoter, Butch Lewis, to make the fight happen.

Big nights and big names

His strength was the heavyweight title. From Holmes in 1978 to Tyson in 1990 he promoted the men who held it, and by the late 1990s he had put on more than 500 world title fights. In 2001 he staged the Middleweight World Championship Series at Madison Square Garden, which Bernard Hopkins, Who’s Who number 9, won by stopping Félix Trinidad, Who’s Who number 6.

Stories people still tell

1. The guarantee before the money.

   For the Rumble he promised Ali and Foreman $5 million each before he had a backer.

2. A quiet signing.

   George Foreman, Who’s Who number 35 later said King kept news of the fight quiet for him at the time he signed.

3. Morning in Manila.

   The Thrilla started at 10:45 am local time.

Legacy

The Congressional Record described him in 1999 as the first major Black boxing promoter, and he went into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997. Several fighters have accused him of shortchanging them. He was acquitted of tax evasion in 1985, and an insurance fraud case ended in a hung jury in 1995 and an acquittal at a retrial in 1998. Many of the biggest heavyweight fights of the 1970s and 1980s carried his name.