Legendary boxing promoter Don King turns 80 today (August 20), but neither his publicist Alan Hopper, nor anyone in his entire company seems to be able to get him to slow down long enough to celebrate the big day.
“Don has been like, ‘tell the media that I’m working.’ So, you know, his celebration is to work,” Hopper – King’s Vice President of media relations – explained, adding “We’ve gone out to dinner. We even got him a little cake last night. So it’s been an absolute celebration this entire week. But most of all, he’s just been working.”
King, known best for his wild hairstyle and flamboyant personality, entered the boxing world on August 28, 1972, when he convinced Muhammad Ali to take part in a charity fight for a local Cleveland hospital.
Even his debut in boxing was “King-sized,” as the fundraiser ended up becoming the second largest grossing boxing exhibition fight in the history of the sport.
From there, King went on to promote more than 500 world championship fights for some of the greatest boxers ever.
Don’s impressive roster of prize fighters, many of whom would finish their career with Hall of Fame credentials, included names like Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson , Evander Holyfield, Wilfred Benítez, Roberto Durán, Salvador Sánchez, Wilfredo Gómez, and Alexis Argüello.
Inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997, King is also the only promoter to have been named to Sports Illustrated’s list of the “40 Most Influential Sports Figures of the Past 40 Years.”
In honor of Don King’s 80th birthday, CBCSports put together a detailed timeline of the iconic promoter’s life which can be seen here .
via RingTV
