 |
| Don King & Floyd Mayweather |
Promoter
Don King was honored amongst many other boxing legends on August 10 at the
Inaugural Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame induction Ceremony held at Monte Carlo
Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"King
entered the boxing world after convincing Muhammad Ali to box in a charity
exhibition for a local hospital in Cleveland with the help of singer Lloyd
Price. Early on he formed a partnership with a local promoter named Don Elbaum,
who already had a stable of fighters in Cleveland and years of experience in
boxing. In 1974, King negotiated to promote a heavyweight championship fight
between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire, popularly known as "The
Rumble in the Jungle".[4] The fight between Ali and Foreman was a
much-anticipated event. King's rivals all sought to promote the bout, but King
was able to secure the then-record $10 million purse through an arrangement
with the government of Zaire.
King
solidified his position as one of boxing's preeminent promoters the following
year with the third fight between Ali and Joe Frazier in Manila,[5] the capital
of the Philippines, which King deemed the "Thrilla in Manila".[4]
Aside from promoting the premier heavyweight fights of the 1970s, King was also
busy expanding his boxing empire. Throughout the decade, he compiled an
impressive roster of fighters, many of whom would finish their career with Hall
of Fame credentials. Fighters like Larry Holmes, Wilfred Benítez, Roberto
Durán, Salvador Sánchez, Wilfredo Gómez, and Alexis Argüello would all fight
under the Don King Productions promotional banner in the 1970s. (Wikipedia)"
Credit
Images: © Erik Kabik/ Retna/erikkabik.com
No comments:
Post a Comment