Don King on Letterman, April 6, 1982

Don King's first appearance on Late Night. Dave's last question resulted in one of his first media memes.

[@afriend1743]

Don's always smiling but his eyes are cold as ice.

[@candide311]

ikr, 8:11 it's like the mask slips for a second

[@afriend1743]

@@candide311 it's reassuring though, that we can spot shit like this. Gives me hope that I can dodge snakes irl

[@Fathervinyard]

he penalty kicked a guys head in front of a police officer and beat the rap don kings a survivor among other things

[@HypnoticHollywood]

Don King was the first to make boxers into millionaires and if the boxers didn't hire good managers that's on them.

[@victormiranda4664]

He’s not always smiling though

[@KJKJ-ck5fl]

Them diamonds hittin

[@jerechosison]

Found the jewel in adversity, well said!

[@chrisschrader6564]

What a smooth talking SOB!!!

[@caseymckenzie3951]

Welll he’s been a hustler since he could walk

[@D0NTREPLY]

shit! no wonder hes so well versed and educated he taught himself in prison. literally in his cell 23hrs a day reading knowledge. makes alot of sense.

[@urbanflavorz]

He also went to college Kent State. I know you think we don't go to college but we do. Well educated man.

[@dill185]

@@urbanflavorzno one ever said that, stop rehearing your feelings

[@terryindachat7296]

Well he was MLK in his former life.. got too hot, n had to make a way out and start over.

[@abinchi7637]

He started rapping at 3:54

[@sundaypro]

😂😂😂😂

[@murphyebass7837]

Weird watching an interview that happened 3 months before I was born. Don King, what a playa!

[@donaldmack2307]

1981 baby here. You are correct. The world was completely different. Bless you brother.

[@xUzi786]

i was minus 13 years old in april of 82, my dad was 17

[@KD400_]

U were still bathing in the womb lol.

[@murphyebass7837]

@@KD400_ yup

[@joshveall7092]

they called psychopath back in the 80s colourful and successful 😂

[@caseymckenzie3951]

Lol I mean he was always very charming he wasn’t a psycho if anything just a snake that’s 90 percent of people he just happened to be a charming one

[@JamesWilliams-eh8lf]

Straight outta Cleveland

[@KhKh-vx4jv]

he stoped ageing in the 80s

[@nathandubose2876]

Prison is a college

[@rodrigomeneses5900]

For few. It’s a fact !!!

[@bilpaparigormoetis5020]

How

[@dwanyewest]

@@bilpaparigormoetis5020 Prison doesn't rehabilitate criminals. Criminals just learn how to do do more crimes from each other.

[@briancannon2870]

He def had a plan

[@KasperKali]

Very interesting interview 👍🏻

[@VeggieRice]

this is an year before he was pardoned for murder, he's on parole here

[@nhysk]

The classic 'silver tongued devil'.

[@ghusaghusa2135]

maybe, but he's a billionaire, and you're having a Banquet pot pie for dinner

[@SheepofChrist818]

@@ghusaghusa2135 💀

[@Thegcodee]

@@ghusaghusa2135sheesh

[@Thegcodee]

@@ghusaghusa2135that was cold.

[@Celtic-jr9cn]

Stone cold killer. Love him or hate him he is a success story. Well done don king.

[@kevindean1327]

Yeah real Stone killer stomps a 135lb tuberculosis ridden man to death over a few owed bucks. It matters not what you or I think about this high profile amoral grifter as he's about to come face to face with how he lived his life. He burned Ali for over 2 million dollars on the Holmes fight and using his "We are brothers in the latitude of oppression" getto colloquialisms managed to ingratiate himself with black fighters who he then stole from . A real piece of work!!! Only in America 😜 "I guess if you view being a scum ball thief as being worthy of praise we're polar opposites!!! I honor integrity above all else and that electric mop hasn't an iota of that!!!

[@noelr1010]

Many people can become a "success story" if they chose to be slimy pieces of shit. Morals won't allow them though.

[@khalidalahbabi3394]

Mohamed Ali helped many people

[@bossplayermfs5972]

Don King was the first to pay professional sportsman millions like in '74 with the Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman the Zaire government put up a $10 million purse $5 million a piece for both the winner and loser, say what you want Don King is a brilliant business man.

[@SoulSearch11110]

He also was the first to steal millions from them

[@bossplayermfs5972]

@@SoulSearch11110 Keep believing everything that you hear and see on tv, 🐑.

[@VeggieRice]

Do some more reading, you know half the info & have arrived at a conclusion

[@bossplayermfs5972]

@@VeggieRice Yea you’re mother told me all of this right before I got out of bed with her.

[@Ditka-89]

@@SoulSearch11110 not the first to steal from his fighters or the first to get huge purses for his fighters. He just has the most notoriety

[@djcaseuk]

only in america could someone go to prison for manslaughter killing someone in a fight and then come out and become a boxing promoter! wow.. i actually find it hard to believe this is real life. that said, don king is by far the greatest boxing promoter of all time. i remember seeing don all the time on tv growing up, my parents hated mike tyson and wanted him to lose.

[@willarterberry3392]

i remember reading somewhere they tried to name the street where he did it after him. Only in Ameria

[@humanbeing2420]

I doubt very very highly that either of Holmes or Cooney actually made $10 million each for that fight. King definitely skimmed a high percentage from that.

[@PaulGreen11]

Back when Dave was Dave.

[@k-mvlogs7529]

Don king the real OG old-school hustler ❤️

[@HagelBiscut]

Not sure why you admire a theif and murder

[@HagelBiscut]

@@Cityhall3113 i can get that. Still can't forgive him for what he did to mike tho

[@bossplayermfs5972]

@@HagelBiscut You sound real foolish the man paid for his wrong doings when he went to prison, how can you judge him have presidents, senators, and police officers do does worser things on a daily basis??? So if you gonna judge him judge them with exact same critique and reproach and as far as Mike Tyson his downfall was firing Kevin Rooney a bad entourage and that 304 Robin Givens. Mike Tyson made a lot of money with Don King and by his own admission he said blew a lot of it on drugs and bad decisions so let’s speak facts over feelings and opinions 💯.

[@warrenmcfadden3918]

@@bossplayermfs5972 tyson had 20 million in debt because of dons loop holes in his contracts

[@bossplayermfs5972]

@@warrenmcfadden3918 Bull💩, when Tyson tried to sue King for $100 million dollars when the judge saw how much money King paid Mike he got $14 million dollars. And that was for Don being Tyson’s manager and promoter which was unheard of but that’s all it was.

[@Beautybizz28]

The King tenacious business man

[@MisterSolitude]

From 2 sanctioning bodies to 6

[@hernandezrivas]

Legend!!!

[@firesushu]

Say what you will, but don king is in every significant boxing events all through the 20th century as well as today. Just look up deontay wilder and don king

[@MaumauSanders]

Dave Letterman tried to low key dis King, in this interview. But couldn’t

[@ahmedsarhan116]

40 years ago....

[@donaldmack2307]

Classic.

[@Moneyball23]

Don King is the greatest promoter of all time!

[@dongiller]

According to Don King.

[@Moneyball23]

@@dongiller More like, according to how bad boxing is today. Boxing was fantastic when Don King controlled boxing. I blame the rat called Bob Arum for the demise of boxing!

[@bossplayermfs5972]

By far no other promoters has paid their fighters more money 💴 than Don King and this is documented.

[@mariodanielreyesmartinez6995]

Yeah But he steal alot of money, he is a peace of shit

[@eterdayclapz5434]

@@bossplayermfs5972 no other promoter has stole more either

[@mohammedrashid2906]

Nice

[@rodrigomeneses5900]

Awesome

[@thisguyjamal1209]

dukes gotta hold both of them 👶🏽👶🏽

[@markwalker5543]

Don King is a GREAT fight promoter!

[@wilburwolf7080]

rephrase this, he is a buisness man. Frist and foremost. under this lens this whole fiasco makes more sense

[@mariodanielreyesmartinez6995]

He is a robber

[@KingUsyk]

Dudes a thief

[@UMAMIMAMU]

He's a pathetic leach. Nothing more. His only two "talents" in life are siphoning money from _actual_ talent, and getting away with it.

[@muthaafrika6137]

I used to wear my hair like this too. Dont comb it let it stick up alli over my head 😆

[@Jeronimus8090]

2:15 10 million dollars

[@solidcake3401]

Did more for sport than anyone alive today

[@WeGetItOutTheMudTv]

solid cake anyone ever

[@bossplayermfs5972]

💯

[@EiziEizz]

That's what he says. In reality he destroyed the sport and is a horrible piece of excrement.

[@diehard21000]

Took more from the sport

[@rockscousteau]

Hindered the sport.......he made it worse. One of the biggest pieces of shit in sports history.

[@Riles3152]

Entertaining personality and interview, but I wouldn’t trust this man as far as I could throw him...

[@wilburwolf7080]

would you trust any hardcore buisness man?

[@Riles3152]

@@wilburwolf7080 Being a hardcore business man is one thing. Being an alleged swindling con artist is something totally different. How many people have accused King of being the latter rather than the former? But I think I get where your coming from.

[@SoulSearch11110]

That's way too far

[@bayraknayaish1984]

What do you, Don King, feel about Dr. EK. Bailey?

[@keonnewilliams9511]

🤘

[@jkholtgreve]

I love how he’s complaining that movies let the general public know about fight fixing…never once denied that it was a rampant problem.

[@kingsports1113]

Don King n Bob arum both are still living n controlling boxing 2019 until forever lol

[@francescakray233]

Good-evening Mr King. My name is the Bull Of Lewisham. (Middleweight). I, aspire to be Champion one day. Will, you give me your undeclared support and backing in this perilous endeavour? Don King Not Just The King Of The World But Of Our Hearts. Bull. (Matador)

[@Toniann8-20]

This is a very smart man i like him

[@runthomas]

its a dog eat dog world....but no matter which way you cut it....the great don king made a lot of black fighters truly wealthy...he took a massive cut and pushed them into fights.....but they walked away with millions, whereas with the white proomoters they walked away with thousands and if lucky ... a couple hundred thousand.... its business baby......you must respect and admire don king...the greatest promoter boxing has ever seen.

[@Moneyball23]

Exactly… plus the way white promoters criticized Don made me realize that Don was beating them at their own game because they weren’t getting a big pie of the money. These white promoters robbed so much fighters that it makes me laugh when they say Don robs fighters and then they incentivized certain fighters to say Don robbed them. Yet, those fighters were making millions with Don but would ask for cash advances thinking they didn’t have to pay Don back. 😂.

[@PaulGreen11]

Hold On! Hold On!! Larry was right!!! How TF Cooney gonna come outta NOWHERE into $10M!!! Larry supposed to get $15M and Cooney $5M!

[@reycesarcarino4653]

Still 20 mil

[@PaulGreen11]

@@reycesarcarino4653 Damn you don't get it.

[@kingsports1113]

3million each lol 10million is the gross

[@weeshirley5934]

“Deep contrition” 😂

[@PaulGreen11]

"recognition, fame, acclaim and influence."

[@louisn1368]

Affluence not influence

[@Brynny211]

Don King is difficult to read…

[@re7416]

🤔....Don't know about that. (With 👓....I can read the 'Don Chart' real well) X Me & I'll Kill Ya. (🎯😅)

[@coreygolphenee9633]

Impossible his eyes are like Duran's hands, stone

[@Tourist-Q.]

Nobody has 20 millions ... how times have changed. Look how much Floyd Mayweather got for his fights. Look how much Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lebron James get paid. They receive as much money per minute as a nurse for the entire year. They earn 10 million each month.

[@MoDu-ki2gc]

Mine tayson made more money than floyd

[@MoDu-ki2gc]

During his career, Mike Tyson earned at least $430 million in purses and endorsements, roughly $700 million after adjusting for inflation.

[@JA-qu8mm]

@@MoDu-ki2gc ain’t floyd a billionaire?

[@shorts-ng7oy]

if I had a son I don't want him to grow up and turn up-to be don king... living off someone's hard work(mike Tyson)

[@HypnoticHollywood]

Tyson and other boxers aren't promoters, it takes an brilliant mind to orchestrate and pull off major events, that's where Don King came in. If a boxer doesn't have a smart manager to protect their interest that's the boxer's fault.

[@shanksmcnasty6650]

@@HypnoticHollywood yea but he completely conned them and practically robs everyone blind that he comes into contact with

[@willieashford8510]

Don king is Martin Luther King

[@bossplayermfs5972]

Mike Tyson started doing drugs, had bad people around him and the worst thing that happened to him was that 304 Robin Givens that was HIS fault not Don King.

[@adnaanu]

Don King did exploit and screw over plenty of boxers. But they are some who stayed away from his field of influence, Lennox Lewis being a notable example. You only end up getting used if you allow your self to be used.

[@syerra1]

spaonsored by Camel LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

[@CL-pe4ll]

Greaseball at the highest level. Oxygen thief

[@angelogomez4487]

Blah blah blah Don King is a liar.