What If.. No Don King??

There are over 500 organized title matches; belt!!!
More power and freedom for boxers, less Don King - better boxing.

Mike Tyson "explained" it to him.

 

This is a great question Fergy!

 

Very good question Fergy. Bob Arum puts on the Foreman-Ali fight in Madison Square Garden. Ali still wins so history does n't change too drastically there.

Tony Tucker's top contender status would n't have been regurgitated quite so often.

The rest of history progresses pretty much as it did.

 

A lot of big fights wouldn't be made...

 

Disagree completely.
First of all, if Ali and Foreman fight in MSG, there's no Zaire heat, which helps Foreman. Perhaps there are no loose ropes either. Foreman's chances of winning increase bigtime.
Also, if no DK, then Tyson remains with Rooney and Bill Cayton. Rooney helped him maintain discipline to a bigger extent, thus Douglas never beats him. Tyson probably retires undefeated circa 92-93.

 

I see Ali still winning albeit by different means. He would dance a lot more in the earlier rounds. Ali simply had Foreman's number when they fought.

I definitely see where you're coming from re Tyson though. In this scenario Tyson probably fights Razor Ruddock a year or so earlier than he did and stops him within three/four rounds.

 

Tyson didn’t fire Rooney because of Don King.

He fired Rooney because Rooney talked about Mike’s wife in an interview. Tyson had warned him previously not to talk about his personal life and his marriage and to respect his privacy and family life.

Rooney got himself fired by stepping over the line.

As for Cayton, I think there was a lack of trust in him once Jimmy Jacobs died (and that also shattered Tyson’s trust because Jacobs never told him he was dying … basically Jacobs chose to stay quiet to benefit his lifelong buddy Cayton rather than be truthful with the fighter). So that relationship was also doomed.

 

Don King was horrible for boxers but great for boxing fans. He believed in putting on big shows with great undercards. He was/is a slimy guy but the man knew how to entertain a boxing fan. None of that really answered the thread question and I am not that knowledgeable on the inner workings of the fight game. My answer will be that there would be lots of fights that never got made, sort of like how it is now.

 

I think the Simpsons already answered...

This content is protected

 

I think it all comes to King frequently controlling boxer A and boxer B; thus it was for him a win situation regardless who actually won the fight.

What you see more and more nowadays is boxer A and boxer B, their respective managers both scared to death of his respective guy being defeated and losing his paycheck, so they would rather play it safe and are very reluctant to "risky" fights.

 

You are absolutely right.

 

This is an uncomfortable truth about Don King. As annoying as he was when it came to how he treated his boxers, he really did put on a lot of great fights and was a great promoter. I hate to say it, but boxing really needed a guy like King who came along at just the right time with the rise of colored TV and PPV events.

He definitely should get credit for pulling strings for Tyson to unify all the belts at HW. The boxing fans back then were confused by all the splintered titles and they're even more confused now. King obviously understood that and knew that "the" champion of the world is far more marketable than "a" champion of the world. Corruption aside, boxing honestly needs to have a powerful figure similar to King so that the best fight the best since having a unified organization ordering the big fights to be made is a pipe dream.

Without King, the 70's and 80's boxing scene would be a lot less exciting and some guys would no doubt avoid each other seeking easier paydays.

 

King, Duva, Warren, Hearns, Duff, Solomons, Jacob, Kearns and so on...

the Monopolisers, who Controlled & Killed Boxing "the Sport" turning it into "a Business" and sadly like a lot of Businesses, a Very CORRUPT One...

yes, people will say we need the Promoters, but the truth is - 'IF' the Boards, like Governments with Lobbyists, if the Boards didn't need or depend on Outside Monies - Promoters & Backers, well they could have ran Boxing like a Sport...

where "the Board" named & insured Title Contention & Eliminator Tournaments, insuring that the True Contenders met and competed against each other and likewise go on to meet the True Champions, therefore always turning out True Competition and Champs.

not only 'Could' it have been ran this way, it SHOULD Be.