
Originally Posted by
bradlee180
Don King's way of ripping off fighters is telling some young contender from the projects that they'll get 10 million dollars and then give them 4 or 5 million instead.
You are too generous, King was due to pay Witherspoon $1 Million for fighting Bruno, when it eventually got settled, Terrible Tim made $90,000...
But as mentioned that is but one part of a complex man. He is/was a Promotional genius, maybe deeply flawed, but still a genius.
Look at his first 'big' fight. He was pre fight in Smokin' Joe's corner, but at the end of the bout he stood alongside Foreman.
He managed to get Millions together to set up The Rumble in the Jungle, he managed to work with his main rivals when it suited (Dynamic Duo et al). This meant the likes of the late 80s Heavyweight unification could happen. Then in the 90s with his main behind bars, he made Julio Cesar Chavez a true global superstar, with the support of some of the best bills of boxing we have ever seen.
There is of course the darker side to King, and we know that it does not get much darker than killing people...
King was though a near master of the 'dark art' of promotion.
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