Don King is 88 years old, he is semi-retired and has been for some time. While one-time bitter rival Bob Arum is still very much at the top of his game – promoting as he is the likes of pound-for-pound king Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford and upcoming heavyweight title challenger Kubrat Pulev – King has aged less well; his energies failing to keep up with those of the Top Rank boss.
A morbid question it might be, but who will outlive the other, Arum or King? Another question – will Arum once more get his hands on a significant piece of the world heavyweight crown before he’s done, or will King?
Pulev, Arum assures us, will beat Joshua on June 20th, knock him flat. Maybe. King is aiming, possibly, to get his hands on a far lesser version of the heavyweight belt: the version of the WBA strap currently held by Manuel Charr. King fighter Trevor Bryan holds yet another watered-down version of the WBA heavyweight belt, a version even less worthy than the one belonging to Charr. And King has won the purse bid to host Charr vs. Bryan.
Excited about this fight? Nah, of course, you’re not. But King, if this fight actually takes place (King bid $2 million to win the rights), might promote his last “big” fight. There was a time when King really was The Don, the man who worked his own unique magic and controlled the heavyweight championship as well as the division.
How the mighty have fallen. So brace yourself – the thriller in wherever between Bryan (inactive since August of 2018) and Charr (last seeing action back in November of 2017) might be a fight that goes down in footnote boxing history: that of Don King’s final fight.
How much longer will King stay with us before he passes? Will you miss him when he’s gone?
Say what you want about King, and love him or loathe him, you cannot deny the impact the former Cleveland numbers runner and prison convict made on the sport. Good, bad and ugly.
