Donald King, also known as Don King, is an American boxing promoter who is involved in many historic boxing matches.
He is a controversial figure however is the one whom one of the greatest boxers of all time, Mike Tyson trusted.
He started operating an illegal bookmaking operation and later he was charged with the murder of two men, for which he was sentenced to serve jail but was later granted a pardon.
Donald King (aged 90) was born on August 20, 1931, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was born to Clarence King and Hattie King. King was married to Henrietta King until 2010. He has three children Deborah King, Carl King, and Eric King. He started his career as a Boxing promoter by convincing Muhammad Ali to fight for a charity match in an exhibition for a local hospital in Cleveland.
Besides promoting heavy fights in 1970, he was also focused on expanding his boxing empire for which he compiled an excellent roster of fighters. The fighters include Larry Holmes, Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran, Salvador Sanchez, Wilfredo Gomez, and Alexis Arguello. Many of these fighters finished their career with boxing Hall of Fame credentials. Further, he himself has been an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee in 1997 and a Gaming Hall of Fame inductee in the year 2008.
King is actively involved in politics and supported George W. Bush in the election campaigns of 2004 as well as Barack Obama in the elections of 2008 and 2012. The famous boxing promoter got awarded an honorary degree in Doctorate of Humane Letters by the president of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.
Is Don King Still Alive?
Yes, the International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee is still alive at the age of 90. The promoter famous for his work in “Thrilla Manila” and “Rumble in the Jungle” lives in Deerfield, Florida, and has a net worth of a staggering 150 million dollars.
Why was Don King Convicted?
Don is convicted of two murders for a duration of 13 years. However, he only faced four years in jail only and was later granted a pardon.
With his first murder, he got away with a reason being justifiable homicide. In the year of 1954, King shot a man named Hilary Brown in the back. According to various media sources, Brown was reportedly trying to rob one of the gambling houses owned by King. However, when the case went to court, King put forward and claimed an argument that he shot Brown in an act of self-defense. The court agreed with his argument and he was then free.
After 13 years of this incident, on April 20, 1966, he was again on a trial for the second-degree murder of his employee, Sam Garrett. The two fought over the money issue and the eye-witnesses saw him pulling out a 38-caliber revolver during the fight. Garrett died five days later in hospital. This time also, he put forward his argument as self-defense by allegedly saying that Garrett followed him out of a bar and threatened his life over the payoff amount. After the two detectives who were in charge of the case testified that King kicked Garrett three times in the head, the decision went to the jury. The jury of eight women and four men concluded the case as second-degree murder and brought a verdict of a possible sentence of life imprisonment.
Besides, he has also been charged with other legal issues like tax evasion but never got convicted.