The Hall of Fame promoter hasn’t done much in boxing these last few years. He no longer boasts a stable of superstar marquee champions which means the lucrative TV dates from HBO and Showtime are few and far between.
But lately, it’s been getting even worse for King. The greatest promoter of all-time has been costing his own fighters money. Ricardo Mayorga hasn’t boxed for King since losing to Shane Mosley in 2008 and this past weekend suffered losing an MMA payday when King forced the cancelation on the day of the event. Nikolay Valuev was advised by King to reject a reported $2,500,000 payday to box WBC Heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko this year and now the frustrated Russian sits by waiting, with nothing on the table.
Devon Alexander may be the best super lightweight on the planet and a future pound-for-pound superstar – some insiders believe he is at the same competitive (though not popularity) level as Mayweather and Pacquiao right now – but nobody knows it, thanks in part to the inabilities of King to successfully promote his career.
Ray Austin, Andrew Golota, Wayne Braithwaite, Miguel Callist, have all had their careers stagnate because of King.
When the promoter reaches the point where he is actually taking guaranteed money out of his own fighters pockets, while producing nothing of significance for his fighters, maybe it’s time that promoter steps aside, hangs it up, and calls it a day. And let the new generation of promoters do their jobs.