BOXING CULTURE
HOLLY HUMPHREY
The Don King Era of Boxing
THE SCORECARD / THE DON KING ERA OF BOXING
In the commercial history of boxing, few figures have had a more transformative influence than Don King. Known as much for his eccentric appearance and bravado as for his role behind some of the most iconic fights in boxing history, King redefined the promoter’s role. He elevated boxing from sport to spectacle, crafting events that extended far beyond the ring itself. In doing so, he demonstrated that the true value of a fight lies not only in its physical outcome but in its narrative framing and the scale of attention it commands.
This redefinition began in earnest in 1972, when King persuaded Muhammad Ali to participate in a charity exhibition to raise funds for a Cleveland hospital. Driven by this success and encouraged by Ali, King transitioned into full-time promotion. Just two years later, he organised the legendary Rumble in the Jungle, a heavyweight title bout between Ali and George Foreman that attracted global attention and confirmed King’s instinct for drama. King went on to promote seven of Ali’s title bouts, including the Thrilla in Manila in 1975, which reportedly reached over a million viewers worldwide and earned Ali $6 million. By the 1980s and 1990s, King was promoting dozens of world title fights per year and securing some of the largest purses in boxing history.
What made King exceptional was his ability to see the fight not as the product, but as the final act in a much larger performance. He constructed mythologies around fighters, choreographed press conferences, chose symbolic venues and ensured the world was watching. His flamboyant persona was itself part of the spectacle. Yet beneath the performance lay a sophisticated understanding of media and power. King knew that boxing could only retain its cultural status if the public perceived it as more than sport, it had to become an event. In doing so, he reshaped not only how boxing was promoted but how it was consumed and remembered.
Today, many promoters draw on the principles that underpinned King’s success, though few have replicated them with his coherence or scale. His legacy was not his hair, his headlines, or his outbursts; it was his ability to turn a fighter into a phenomenon and a bout into a cultural moment. Ultimately, King’s enduring lesson is that boxing must be built, not just scheduled, it must be staged, not simply sold.
