King sails back into Vegas fight scene
The wind was blowing so hard, it seemed as if the big pirate ship in front of Treasure Island was going to wind up sailing down Las Vegas Boulevard.
But Don King wasn’t going to let a few strong gusts mess with his promotion.
The longtime boxing promoter hopped aboard the vessel, grabbed the cordless microphone and started bellowing as only he can, shilling Saturday’s IBF bantamweight title fight between Joseph Agbeko and Yonnhy Perez.
The tourists walking by paused to see what all the commotion was about. Even the TI Sirens, the scantily clad entertainers aboard the ship, were smiling as King rambled.
It has been four years since King was the lead promoter for a fight in Las Vegas. In 2005, he promoted the Felix Trinidad-Winky Wright fight at the MGM Grand Garden.
Since then, he has been an occasional visitor to town, co-promoting a fight here and there. Now he’s back. And at age 78, he said he’s not going away anytime soon.
“When God calls me, I’ll have plenty of time to sleep,” King said. “I need to help people.”
And help Las Vegas as well. King sees a struggling city and thinks he can help it bounce back through boxing.
“This place was built on dreams and schemes,” King said of Las Vegas. “No contracts. Just a handshake and a word. You have to keep that spirit alive, and that’s what I’m trying to do with (Treasure Island owner) Phil Ruffin.
“The Treasure Island has made me re-energized. I wasn’t going to come back to Vegas just to say I’m back. I’m not going to do a card just to do a card. I wanted to bring back TLC — tender loving touch (sic) to the people. I want to see Las Vegas get that stimuli back.”
In his heyday, King was known for promoting blockbuster cards in Las Vegas. He would have as many as 14 bouts a night, many of them competitive fights, along with multiple world title bouts.
But he has had trouble getting his fighters on the big pay-per-view events. He has not been able to land any dates with HBO, and that has kept him from doing business with the big Las Vegas resorts the past few years.
But King said he’s willing to start small and work his way back to the megafight scene here, starting with Saturday’s card, which will be televised by Showtime.
“I missed the people here,” he said. “I missed the excitement. And whether you like me or not, they’re all glad to see me back on the scene.
”But I won’t come here under false pretenses. People mean more to me than money. I want to give people true value for their entertainment.”
Agbeko-Perez has several good undercard fights supporting it, including the WBC lightweight interim championship between Tony DeMarco and Jose Alfaro.
“In the years I’ve been doing business here (in Las Vegas), I always put on good, competitive fight cards,” King said. “This is no different. But that’s why you haven’t seen me here in a while. If you put on a big card, and something happens in the main event and the headliner drops out, you’re going to be left with garbage, and I won’t do that. It’s not fair to the fans.”
King is going to get into the Halloween spirit, giving away $1,000 to the best Don King impersonator and another $1,000 to the person dressed in the best costume at Saturday’s card in the 1,000-seat Treasure Island Ballroom.
“As long as there’s people out there, I’m going to promote,” he said. “I’m a promoter of the people, by the people and for the people. It’s more than about boxing. It’s about America.”
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.