ESPN has returned a legal attack from boxing promoter Don King with a jab of its own. The cable sports network has asked the U.S. District Court in Miami to declare that King has no legal grounds for a defamation suit he filed against ESPN Inc. in January, according to documents filed Tuesday. King asked for damages of more than $2.5 billion. The wild-haired boxing promoter alleged he was defamed and cast in a false light by statements made during a half-hour "SportsCentury'' segment that aired in May. His lawsuit objected to claims that he was "a snake oil salesman, a shameless huckster and worse,'' that he underpaid Muhammad Ali by $1.2 million and that he "killed not once, but twice.'' King was convicted in a 1967 beating death and acquitted in a 1954 killing.
Most of the material in the program about King had been previously printed or broadcast. In its complaint, ESPN described the segment as "a series of speakers who talk about events in King's life. The speakers consist mainly of former King associates, fighters he has promoted, and journalists who have written about King.''
ESPN said the segment "touched on matters of public concern.'' The network has declined to retract nine statements King contended were defamatory.
King's attorney, Willie Gary, did not immediately return a call Tuesday evening to The Associated Press.
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