Biography
Fans of professional boxing fights are familiar with the identity of Don King, who, being a sports functionar and a promoter, organized the "Thriller in Manila" duel and "Rotten in the jungle". Its activities covered a whole era of champions in different weight categories, among which were Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes.Childhood and youth
Donald King was born on August 20, 1931 in Cleveland in an African American large family. At the 10th age, the boy lost his father who died as a result of an accident, but the insurance received from the state helped the mother to improve life.
Embed from getty imagesDue to this, at the end of the 1940s, Don entered the secondary school of John Adams and visited the boxing section, but after knockout received on the amateur tournament "Golden Gloves", I decided to care health and abandoned an active sport.
In the youth of King, I dreamed of a career of a lawyer and entered the Kent state university, but soon threw his studies and, becoming a serving bookmaker, had problems with the law that lasted about 20 years.
The beginning of this was the illegal operation with the rates, which the guy spent from the basement of the music store, and in 1954 he committed a murder, but because of softening circumstances did not come under arrest. When in 1967 King to death scored owl people, lawyers did not help avoid punishment, and on charges of disaster crime, a man was sent to a correctional establishment, where for 48 months read books and developed intelligence.
Career
In 1971, freed from imprisonment, King was seriously thought about the future, which saw in the entertainment sphere, and interest in boxing and accidental acquaintance with Mohammed Ali marked the beginning of a successful promotional career.At an early stage, the former bookmaker collaborated with the Cleveland businessman Don Elbaum, who had the experience of organizing fights and his own professional team of fighters. With his support, King became an organizer of the battle Ali with George Formant, who became known as "rumble in the jungle", and marked the beginning of a major state by investing $ 10 million in an event.
Such a start brought the glory to the previously unknown name and provided acquaintance and the opportunity to develop. Therefore, in 1976, the promoter was entitled to the organization of a boxing meeting in the Philippines, which because of the cruelty of rivals received the name "Thriller in Manila". For the next two decades, he became one of the outstanding promoters who advanced Tyson Mike, Evander Holyfield, Azuma Nelson and Angeaya Golota.
True, such success entailed the unpleasant moments associated with a series of lawsuits and proceedings. King had to spake from Mohammed Ali, Larry Holmes, Lennox Lewis and Terry Norris and spend hundreds of millions of dollars earned to avoid persecution due to deception, non-payment of fees and non-fulfillment of obligations.
Most of these cases were publicly published and covered by the reporters of sports channels and newspapers. But the events reflected in the documentary "Sportscentury" about the Don and his biography, so outraged the promoter that he began litigation with a television company, but the court rejected the statement, deciding that there is no harm to reputation.
Personal life
Professional King's career, associated with permanent business trips and roads, almost no time for a personal life. But, despite this, after a divorce with the love of youth, which was the name of Luvenia Mitchell, the promoter decided to a re-wedding, and Henrietta's wife became a friend who performed any whim.
Embed from getty imagesTherefore, when in 2010, the spouse at the age of 87 died from cancer, Don hardly experienced this loss and plunged into work with his head with the support of his native daughter and adoptive children.
Don King now
In 2019, Don noted the 87th anniversary, but judging by the last photo, it is not at all going to grow old. And although his personal presence in the fight is now regarded as an exceptional phenomenon, boxing lovers continue to put Hesteg King under the records in Instagram and hope for new events that no one wants to cancel.