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Who Is Don King?
The fight is easy when the training is hard. Boxing is a sport that requires hardcore straining. Don King is an American boxing promoter. Recruiting boxers and conducting events in his field of work. He is a brand name in his field. Also, he has been participating in several TV shows and films like Don King and Head Office. He is well known for his unique hairstyle.
In his career, he has been a controversial figure because of the cases filed against him. Regardless of that, he worked with the most successful and famous boxers of the 21st century, including Mike Tyson and Mohammad Ali.
He made lots of fortune and fame by promoting several boxers and fights. He is one of the prominent reasons for boxing’s exposure in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. King launched famous boxers like Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
Today, at the age of 88, he has mostly withdrawn himself from the world of boxing. Currently, he lives in Deerfield, Florida. In the interview with the New York Times, he said that he would be happy to promote a big fight, but the boxing world has changed a lot and the fighters and their desires are not the same as the older ones. Today’s boxers just want to be highlighted in the headlines.
Personal Details
- Celebrity Name: Don King
- Full Name: Donald King
- Gender: Male
- Birth Date: August 20, 1931
- Birth Place: Cleveland, Ohio
- Age: 89
- Height: 1.87 m
- Weight:80 Kg
- Nationality: American
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Status: Single
- Wife: Henrita King (m. 1959; died. 2010)
- Children: 3
- Profession: Boxing Promoter
- Net Worth: $150 million
Early Life
Donald was born on 20 August 1931 in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1941, his father was killed in an explosion at a steel factory where he was working. With the provided insurance settlement, her mother and the family relocated to a middle-class neighborhood. Soon her mother started baking pies, which her sons used to sell along with the roasted peanuts.
He joined the Western Reserve University, where he decided to pursue law as a career. Later, in 1951 he graduated from Johns Adams High. After dropping out of Kent State University, Don started an illegal bookmarking operation. He was arrested a few times for the same.
Once, when he was in jail he decided to self-educate himself and he read everything available at the prison library. However, soon he got a chance to go for a different career which would get him a lot of money and fame.
Later he started his career as a boxing promoter. He entered this industry after convincing Muhammad Ali to take part in a charity exhibition at a local hospital in Cleveland. To get some support, he worked with a famous local boxing promoter Don Erlbaum. After that, he never looked back and achieved the fame he holds today.
Personal Life
Donald has kept his personal life to himself. There is no specific information about his personal life. At the age of 28, King married Henrietta. They have one biological daughter Debbie and two sons, Carl and Eric both of them are adopted. He is blessed with 5 grandchildren. His wife died in December 2010. Since then king is single.
King is politically active and he made some media appearances. Also, for several years he conducted an annual turkey giveaway each Christmas, where he distributes two thousand to the needy who were the natives of South Florida.
Career
King’s debut as a boxing promoter was legendary. He started by promoting the match with George Foreman. The event was named Rumble in the Jungle. The event becomes a classic mark in history forever. Later, he was promoting Thrilla in Manilla with Ali fighting Joe Frazier. The event was a huge success. The profit he made out of it was huge.
He launched several new faces in the boxing field. The boxing sport was blooming and the credits were given to Don King. Also because of his success rate he is known as one of the best boxing promoters.
He started working for several events and boxers that made him lots of money and fame. Soon after that, in the year 1982, the bells of controversies rang. He was then accused in fraud cases which eventually solved outside the courtroom.
Where boxing promotion made him rich, it also brought him controversies and disputes. Soon after the death of his wife, he stopped working as a boxing promoter. One he said that he would love to promote another big fight but the boxers now are not that passionate as the earlier ones used to be.
Awards and Achievements
In the booming industry of sports, king chooses his career as a boxing promoter. He got his name established as one of the best boxing promoters. That is no less than any achievement. Also, there is a street renamed Don King Way in New York. A similar renaming happened in Cleland when Shaker Boulevard was named Don King Way.
In 1997 he was awarded International Boning Hall of Fame inductee. Later in the year 2008, he got the Gaming Hall of Fame inductee award. The fame he received in the boxing industry is itself a huge reward for him.
Don Kings Total Net Worth
Image Source: grubstreet.com
As of now, the net worth of Don King is $150 M.
Don King decided his career as law but his fate draws him to boxing promoter. He got a lot of fame in this field and earned lots of money. His attitude towards boxing is far away from the normal public. Today when he lives in Florida he says that he would love to promote another big boxing event. People want to see him again in the field of boxing.