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110-937: Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter , known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting " The Rumble in the Jungle " and the " Thrilla in Manila ". King has promoted some of the most prominent names in boxing, including Muhammad Ali , Joe Frazier , George Foreman , Larry Holmes , Tomasz Adamek , Roberto Duran , Mike Tyson , Evander Holyfield , Chris Byrd , John Ruiz , Julio César Chávez , Ricardo Mayorga , Andrew Golota , Bernard Hopkins , Félix Trinidad , Roy Jones Jr. , Azumah Nelson , Gerald McClellan , Marco Antonio Barrera , Salvador Sanchez , Wilfred Benitez , Wilfredo Gomez and Christy Martin . Some of these boxers sued him for allegedly defrauding them. Mike Tyson

220-458: A Prince Hall Freemason . In the following year, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane letters degree from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio , by University President Dr. Arthur E. Thomas. King has conducted an annual turkey giveaway each Christmas for several years, in which he distributes two thousand free turkeys to needy South Floridians. In September 2024, King

330-442: A 24-foot-square or similar ring. Rounds were three minutes with one-minute rest intervals between rounds. Each fighter was given a ten-second count if he was knocked down, and wrestling was banned. The introduction of gloves of "fair-size" also changed the nature of the bouts. An average pair of boxing gloves resembles a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists. The gloves can be used to block an opponent's blows. As

440-402: A TKO. A TKO is considered a knockout in a fighter's record. A "standing eight" count rule may also be in effect. This gives the referee the right to step in and administer a count of eight to a fighter that the referee feels may be in danger, even if no knockdown has taken place. After counting the referee will observe the fighter, and decide if the fighter is fit to continue. For scoring purposes,

550-669: A bare-knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm , despite the consent of the participants. This marked the end of widespread public bare-knuckle contests in England. The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules was "Gentleman Jim" Corbett , who defeated John L. Sullivan in 1892 at the Pelican Athletic Club in New Orleans . The first instance of film censorship in

660-416: A battling, bruising club fighter who had never made the big time, was having his shot. It wasn't at all regarded as a serious battle. But as the fight progressed, this miracle unfolded. He hung in there. People went absolutely crazy. Wepner was knocked out in the 15th and final round, almost lasting the distance. We had witnessed an incredible triumph of the human spirit and we loved it. That night, Rocky Balboa

770-662: A boxer is seriously injured, if one boxer is significantly dominating the other or if the score is severely imbalanced. Amateur bouts which end this way may be noted as "RSC" (referee stopped contest) with notations for an outclassed opponent (RSCO), outscored opponent (RSCOS), injury (RSCI) or head injury (RSCH). Professional bouts are usually much longer than amateur bouts, typically ranging from ten to twelve rounds, though four-round fights are common for less experienced fighters or club fighters. There are also some two- and three-round professional bouts, especially in Australia. Through

880-519: A fighter lands a punch that opens a cut on the opponent, and the opponent is later deemed not fit to continue by a doctor because of the cut. For this reason, fighters often employ cutmen , whose job is to treat cuts between rounds so that the boxer is able to continue despite the cut. If a boxer simply quits fighting, or if his corner stops the fight, then the winning boxer is also awarded a technical knockout victory. In contrast with amateur boxing, professional male boxers have to be bare-chested. "Style"

990-411: A grudge match and sell tickets. Upon Wepner's refusal to grant him the favor he sought, Ali started shouting as soon as the show's host reappeared on the set: "Do you know what he called me? Do you know what he called me?" Wepner then covered Ali's mouth with his hand. "Ali was a promoter. He was a great promoter and they were trying to hype up the fight," Wepner explained. The fight was billed as Give

1100-493: A hidden manager. Holmes says he received only $ 150,000 of a contracted $ 500,000 for his fight with Ken Norton , and $ 50,000 of $ 200,000 for facing Earnie Shavers , and claims King cut his purses for bouts with Muhammad Ali , Randall "Tex" Cobb , and Leon Spinks , underpaying him $ 2 million, $ 700,000, and $ 250,000, respectively. Holmes sued King over the accounting and auditing for the Gerry Cooney fight , charging that he

1210-643: A man while down, holding the ropes, and using resin, stones or hard objects in the hands, and biting. In 1867, the Marquess of Queensberry rules were drafted by John Chambers for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for lightweights , middleweights and heavyweights . The rules were published under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensberry , whose name has always been associated with them. There were twelve rules in all, and they specified that fights should be "a fair stand-up boxing match" in

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1320-520: A match will personally score the match, and post their scores as an independent sentence in their report. Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, boxing bouts were motivated by money, as the fighters competed for prize money, promoters controlled the gate, and spectators bet on the result. The modern Olympic movement revived interest in amateur sports, and amateur boxing became an Olympic sport in 1908. In their current form, Olympic and other amateur bouts are typically limited to three or four rounds, scoring

1430-433: A much-anticipated event. King's rivals all sought to promote the bout, but King was able to secure the then-record $ 10 million purse through an arrangement with the government of Zaire. King arranged Ali's 1975 fight against journeyman Chuck Wepner . It is widely believed the fight inspired Sylvester Stallone to write the screenplay for Rocky (1976). King solidified his position as one of boxing's preeminent promoters

1540-445: A multibillion-dollar commercial enterprise. A majority of young talent still comes from poverty-stricken areas around the world. Places like Mexico, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe prove to be filled with young aspiring athletes who wish to become the future of boxing. Even in the U.S., places like the inner cities of New York, and Chicago have given rise to promising young talent. According to Rubin, "boxing lost its appeal with

1650-460: A point scoring system that measures the number of clean blows landed rather than physical damage. Bouts consist of three rounds of three minutes in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and three rounds of three minutes in a national ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) bout, each with a one-minute interval between rounds. Competitors wear protective headgear and gloves with a white strip or circle across

1760-533: A rematch with Lewis. In early 2006, Chris Byrd sued Don King for breach of contract, and the two eventually settled out of court under the condition that Byrd would be released from his contract with King. King appeared in the 2-part Miami Vice episode "Down for the Count" (season 3, episodes 12/13, 1987) as Mr. Cash. King acted in a small role as more or less himself in The Last Fight (1982) and in

1870-403: A result of the opponent's punch and not a slip, as determined by the referee, the referee begins counting until the fighter returns to their feet and can continue. Some jurisdictions require the referee to count to eight regardless of if the fighter gets up before. Should the referee count to ten, then the knocked-down boxer is ruled "knocked out" (whether unconscious or not) and the other boxer

1980-402: A result of their introduction, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive maneuvers such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling. Because less defensive emphasis was placed on the use of the forearms and more on the gloves, the classical forearms outwards, torso leaning back stance of the bare knuckle boxer was modified to a more modern stance in which

2090-419: A series of fierce combinations that sent Wepner staggering around the ring before being knocked down by one final punch. He attempted to rise and beat the count, but the fight was stopped by referee Tony Perez upon seeing the challenger's poor condition. Ali was bitter about the controversial knockdown, and later commented to reporters that Wepner "was dirty and fought like a woman." Despite this, later in life

2200-446: A shot at the heavyweight title. The screenplay, titled Rocky, would be purchased by United Artists , with the agreement that Stallone would also star in the film. Released the following year, Rocky would go on to win three Oscars (including Best Picture ) and became the highest-grossing film of 1976 . Stallone would later describe his experience watching the fight and how it contributed to his eventual creation: Chuck Wepner,

2310-420: A standing eight count is treated as a knockdown. In general, boxers are prohibited from hitting below the belt, holding, tripping, pushing, biting, or spitting. The boxer's shorts are raised so the opponent is not allowed to hit to the groin area with intent to cause pain or injury. Failure to abide by the former may result in a foul. They also are prohibited from kicking, head-butting, or hitting with any part of

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2420-498: A system of headbutting, punching, eye-gouging, chokes, and hard throws, not recognized in boxing today. The first boxing rules, called the Broughton Rules , were introduced by champion Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring where deaths sometimes occurred. Under these rules, if a man went down and could not continue after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over. Hitting a downed fighter and grasping below

2530-450: A tendency to dominate. The style of boxing practiced typically featured an advanced left leg stance, with the left arm semi-extended as a guard, in addition to being used for striking, and with the right arm drawn back ready to strike. It was the head of the opponent which was primarily targeted, and there is little evidence to suggest that targeting the body or the use of kicks was common, in which it resembled modern western boxing. Boxing

2640-455: Is a combat sport and martial art . Taking place in a boxing ring , it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves , hand wraps , and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time. Although the term "boxing" is commonly attributed to western boxing, in which only fists are involved, it has developed in different ways in different geographical areas and cultures of

2750-528: Is computed by points based on the number of clean blows landed, regardless of impact, and fighters wear protective headgear, reducing the number of injuries, knockdowns, and knockouts. Currently scoring blows in amateur boxing are subjectively counted by ringside judges, but the Australian Institute for Sport has demonstrated a prototype of an Automated Boxing Scoring System , which introduces scoring objectivity, improves safety, and arguably makes

2860-534: Is from Egypt and Sumer, both from the third millennia, and can be seen in Sumerian carvings from the third and second millennia BC. The earliest evidence of boxing rules dates back to Ancient Greece , where boxing was established as an Olympic game in 688 BC. Boxing evolved from 16th- and 18th-century prizefights, largely in Great Britain, to the forerunner of modern boxing in the mid-19th century with

2970-415: Is knocked down, the other boxer must immediately cease fighting and move to the furthest neutral corner of the ring until the referee has either ruled a knockout or called for the fight to continue. Violations of these rules may be ruled "fouls" by the referee, who may issue warnings, deduct points, or disqualify an offending boxer, causing an automatic loss, depending on the seriousness and intentionality of

3080-406: Is now maintaining my life.' That is why my career spanned twenty years. I didn't burn myself out training for guys like Al Lewis, Jürgen Blin , and Chuck Wepner ". Red Smith of The New York Times reported on financing of the fight, " Don King induced a Cleveland tycoon named Carl Lombardo to underwrite the show for $ 1.3‐million. Video Techniques put in $ 200,000 and that just about took care of

3190-414: Is often defined as the strategic approach a fighter takes during a bout. No two fighters' styles are alike, as each is determined by that individual's physical and mental attributes. Three main styles exist in boxing: outside fighter ("boxer"), brawler (or "slugger"), and inside fighter ("swarmer"). These styles may be divided into several special subgroups, such as counter puncher, etc. The main philosophy of

3300-609: Is politically active and supported Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. During the previous election , he had made media appearances promoting George W. Bush , which had included attendance at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. On June 10, 1987, King was made a ' Mason-at-Sight ' by "Grand Master" Odes J. Kyle Jr. of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio, thereby making him

3410-907: Is related to other forms of martial arts found in other parts of the Indian cultural sphere including Muay Thai in Thailand, Muay Lao in Laos, Pradal Serey in Cambodia and Lethwei in Myanmar. In Ancient Greece boxing was a well developed sport called pygmachia , and enjoyed consistent popularity. In Olympic terms, it was first introduced in the 23rd Olympiad , 688 BC. The boxers would wind leather thongs around their hands in order to protect them. There were no rounds and boxers fought until one of them acknowledged defeat or could not continue. Weight categories were not used, which meant heavier fighters had

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3520-417: Is ruled the winner by knockout (KO). A "technical knock-out" (TKO) is possible as well, and is ruled by the referee, fight doctor, or a fighter's corner if a fighter is unable to safely continue to fight, based upon injuries or being judged unable to effectively defend themselves. Many jurisdictions and sanctioning agencies also have a "three-knockdown rule", in which three knockdowns in a given round result in

3630-404: Is the king of boxin'", whereupon the manager responded with "Yeah, yeah, Chuck, but in the ring you're the king of dirty fighting. You're both royalty." Ali would later complain that Wepner had thrown " rabbit punches "—punches on the back of the head—on him, and had expressed his displeasure that Tony Perez , the referee, allowed the usage of this tactic. Ali retaliated by throwing 6 punches to

3740-817: The Rig Veda ( c. 1500–1000 BCE) and Ramayana ( c. 700–400 BCE). The Mahabharata describes two combatants boxing with clenched fists and fighting with kicks, finger strikes, knee strikes and headbutts during the time of King Virata . Duels ( niyuddham ) were often fought to the death. During the period of the Western Satraps , the ruler Rudradaman —in addition to being well-versed in "the great sciences" which included Indian classical music , Sanskrit grammar , and logic—was said to be an excellent horseman, charioteer, elephant rider, swordsman and boxer. The Gurbilas Shemi , an 18th-century Sikh text, gives numerous references to musti-yuddha . The martial art

3850-521: The 1977 Academy Awards , Stallone and Ali presented the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress together, with Ali comedically announcing that he was the real Apollo Creed and mock sparring with Stallone. Although Stallone admitted the fight was an important part of the creative process, he has also stated that other fighters (most notably Rocky Marciano ) were important inspirations as well. Neither Wepner or Ali received any official credit in

3960-493: The Fifth Amendment when questioned about his connection to mobster John Gotti . When IBF president Robert W. Lee Sr. was indicted for racketeering in 1999, King was not indicted, nor did he testify at Lee's trial, though prosecutors reportedly "called him an unindicted co-conspirator who was the principal beneficiary of Lee's machinations." King has been involved in many fraud litigation cases with boxers. In 1982, he

4070-650: The Olympic Games and other tournaments sanctioned by AIBA . This was done in part to level the playing field and give all of the athletes the same opportunities government-sponsored boxers from socialist countries and post-Soviet republics have. However, professional organizations strongly opposed that decision. Amateur boxing may be found at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games , Asian Games , etc. In many other venues sanctioned by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing has

4180-483: The prison library he could get his hands on. Having been released in 1972, King was pardoned in 1983 by Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes , with letters from Jesse Jackson , Coretta Scott King , George Voinovich , Art Modell , and Gabe Paul , among others, being written in support of King. King entered the boxing world after convincing Muhammad Ali to box in a charity exhibition for a local hospital in Cleveland with

4290-472: The 1867 introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules . Amateur boxing is both an Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport and is a standard fixture in most international games—it also has its world championships. Boxing is overseen by a referee over a series of one-to-three-minute intervals called "rounds". A winner can be resolved before the completion of the rounds when a referee deems an opponent incapable of continuing, disqualifies an opponent, or

4400-456: The American middle class, and most of who boxes in modern America come from the streets and are street fighters". The Marquess of Queensberry Rules have been the general rules governing modern boxing since their publication in 1867. A boxing match typically consists of a determined number of three-minute rounds, a total of up to 9 to 12 rounds with a minute spent between each round with

4510-546: The Don King Productions promotional banner in the 1970s. For the next two decades, King continued to be among boxing's most successful promoters. Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Julio César Chávez, Aaron Pryor , Bernard Hopkins , Ricardo López , Félix Trinidad, Terry Norris , Carlos Zárate , Azumah Nelson , Andrew Gołota, Mike McCallum , Gerald McClellan , Meldrick Taylor , Marco Antonio Barrera, Tomasz Adamek , John Ruiz , and Ricardo Mayorga are some of

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4620-403: The Jungle . The fighting odds were 10:1 in favor of Ali, and thus was seen as an easy win for Ali who did minimal training for it. Asked why he had not trained harder for this fight, Ali had commented: "An old man was once asked by a young man, 'How is it that you look so good and stay in such fine condition at your advanced age?' The old man replied, 'It is the preserved energy of my youth which

4730-518: The United States occurred in 1897 when several states banned the showing of prize fighting films from the state of Nevada, where it was legal at the time. Throughout the early twentieth century, boxers struggled to achieve legitimacy. They were aided by the influence of promoters like Tex Rickard and the popularity of great champions such as John L. Sullivan. The modern sport arose from illegal venues and outlawed prizefighting and has become

4840-494: The WBC sanctioning fee was also deducted from his purse. He was forced to train at King's own training camp at Orwell, Ohio, instead of Ali's Deer Lake camp which Ali allowed Witherspoon to use for free. For his fight with Greg Page he received a net amount of $ 44,460 from his guaranteed purse of $ 250,000. King had deducted money for training expenses, sparring partners, fight and airplane tickets for his friends and family. Witherspoon

4950-540: The White Guy a Break . Ali would go on to donate 50 cents of each ticket sold for the closed circuit television coverage of the fight to help the drought stricken Sahel region of West Africa. Before the fight, Wepner was lying in bed with his wife when he told her something like "Even if I don't win, I just want to prove I belong there." Wepner later shared this line with Sylvester Stallone who used it in Rocky . On

5060-637: The World. In global terms, "boxing" today is also a set of combat sports focused on striking , in which two opponents face each other in a fight using at least their fists, and possibly involving other actions, such as kicks , elbow strikes , knee strikes , and headbutts , depending on the rules. Some of these variants are the bare-knuckle boxing , kickboxing , Muay Thai , Lethwei , savate , and sanda . Boxing techniques have been incorporated into many martial arts , military systems , and other combat sports. Humans have engaged in hand-to-hand combat since

5170-424: The arm other than the knuckles of a closed fist (including hitting with the elbow, shoulder or forearm, as well as with open gloves, the wrist, the inside, back or side of the hand). They are prohibited as well from hitting the back, back of the head or neck (called a "rabbit-punch") or the kidneys. They are prohibited from holding the ropes for support when punching, holding an opponent while punching, or ducking below

5280-492: The back and killed him while he was attempting to rob one of King's gambling houses in 1954. In 1967, King was convicted of second-degree murder for the second killing after he was found guilty of stomping to death an employee, Sam Garrett, who owed him $ 600. While he served his term at the Marion Correctional Institution , he began self-education; according to his own words, he read everything in

5390-591: The back of Wepner's head in the first round. Similar incidents would continue throughout the fight. A major surprise came in the 9th round when Wepner scored a knockdown, after landing a body shot on the champion while stepping forward. This would be the fourth and final time Ali would be officially knocked down in a professional fight. Ali would later dispute the official knockdown, claiming that Wepner had stepped on his foot and then pushed him, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Film and photographic records mostly vindicate Ali's claim, although Wepner maintains that it

5500-400: The belt of their opponent (dropping below the waist of your opponent, no matter the distance between). If a "clinch" – a defensive move in which a boxer wraps their opponent's arms and holds on to create a pause – is broken by the referee, each fighter must take a full step back before punching again (alternatively, the referee may direct the fighters to "punch out" of the clinch). When a boxer

5610-654: The best boxing strategists due to their ability to control the pace of the fight and lead their opponent, methodically wearing him down and exhibiting more skill and finesse than a brawler. Out-fighters need reach, hand speed, reflexes, and footwork. Notable out-fighters include Muhammad Ali , Larry Holmes , Joe Calzaghe , Wilfredo Gómez , Salvador Sánchez , Cecilia Brækhus , Gene Tunney , Ezzard Charles , Willie Pep , Meldrick Taylor , Ricardo "Finito" López , Floyd Mayweather Jr. , Roy Jones Jr. , Sugar Ray Leonard , Miguel Vázquez , Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez , Wladimir Klitschko and Guillermo Rigondeaux . This style

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5720-426: The body, such as kicks and punches , as an act of human aggression , has existed across the world throughout human history , being a combat system as old as wrestling . However, in terms of sports competition , due to the lack of writing in the prehistoric times and the lack of references, it is not possible to determine rules of any kind of boxing in prehistory, and in ancient times only can be inferred from

5830-630: The boxers who chose King to promote many of their biggest fights. Outside of boxing, he was the concert promoter for The Jacksons ' 1984 Victory Tour . In 1998, King purchased a Cleveland-based weekly newspaper serving the African American community in Ohio, the Call and Post , and as of 2011 continued as its publisher. King was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2023, He

5940-422: The boxers, based on punches and elbows that connect, defense, knockdowns, hugging and other, more subjective, measures. Because of the open-ended style of boxing judging, many fights have controversial results, in which one or both fighters believe they have been "robbed" or unfairly denied a victory. Each fighter has an assigned corner of the ring, where their coach, as well as one or more "seconds" may administer to

6050-417: The boxing promoter had cheated him out of millions over more than a decade. The lawsuit was later settled out of court, with Tyson receiving $ 14 million. In 1996, Terry Norris sued King, alleging that King had stolen money from him and conspired with his manager to underpay him for fights. The case went to trial, but King settled out of court for $ 7.5 million in 2003. King also acceded to Norris's demand that

6160-472: The challenged statements were false. The judgment also pointed out that the studio had tried on a number of occasions to interview King for the documentary, but he had declined; while not suggesting that King had a legal obligation to do so, the court sympathized with ESPN's circumstances on those grounds. King appealed the decision and, 3 years later, the Second District Court of Appeals upheld

6270-629: The comedy Head Office (1985). He also had another brief cameo as himself in the film The Devil's Advocate (1997). He also appeared in a season 4 episode of Knight Rider , titled "Redemption of a Champion". King made an appearance in the documentaries Beyond the Ropes (2008) and Klitschko (2011). King appeared in Moonlighting episode "Symphony in Knocked Flat" (season 3, episode 3, 1986) as himself. Boxing Boxing

6380-400: The contestants did not have heavy leather gloves and wristwraps to protect their hands, they used different punching technique to preserve their hands because the head was a common target to hit full out. Almost all period manuals have powerful straight punches with the whole body behind them to the face (including forehead) as the basic blows. The British sportswriter Pierce Egan coined

6490-450: The day of the fight Wepner presented a "very sexy" blue negligee to his wife and told her to wear it that night in bed since she would be sleeping with the heavyweight champion of the world. On the night of the fight, Mrs. Wepner was wearing the negligee when Wepner returned to their hotel room, after the fight, with twenty three stitches. She asked him: "Okay, bigshot...Do I go to Ali's room, or does he come to mine?" Ali controlled most of

6600-411: The documentary repeated many claims that were already made, King said he had now had enough. King's attorney said "It was slanted to show Don in the worst way. It was one-sided from day one, Don is a strong man, but he has been hurt by this." The case was dismissed on summary judgment with a finding that King could not show "actual malice" from the defendants, and that King had failed to prove that any of

6710-670: The earliest days of human history. The origins of boxing in any of its forms as a sport remain uncertain, but some sources suggest that it has prehistoric roots in what is now Ethiopia , emerging as early as the sixth millennium BC. It is believed that when the Egyptians invaded Nubia , they adopted boxing from the local populace, subsequently popularizing it in Egypt. From there, the sport of boxing spread to various regions, including Greece , eastward to Mesopotamia , and northward to Rome . The earliest visual evidence of any type of boxing

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6820-523: The early 20th century, it was common for fights to have unlimited rounds, ending only when one fighter quit, benefiting high-energy fighters like Jack Dempsey . Fifteen rounds remained the internationally recognized limit for championship fights for most of the 20th century until the early 1980s , when the death of boxer Kim Duk-koo eventually prompted the World Boxing Council and other organizations sanctioning professional boxing to reduce

6930-674: The few intact sources and references to the sport. The origin of the sport of boxing is unknown, however according to some sources boxing in any of its forms has prehistoric origins in present-day Ethiopia , where it appeared in the sixth millennium BC. When the Egyptians invaded Nubia they learned the art of boxing from the local population, and they took the sport to Egypt where it became popular. From Egypt, boxing spread to other countries including Greece , eastward to Mesopotamia, and northward to Rome. The earliest visual evidence of any type of boxing comes from Egypt and Sumer both from

7040-431: The fight after he knocked out Wepner in the fifteenth round. The fight is notable for being among the four fights in which Ali was officially knocked down in the ring, and for inspiring the 1976 film Rocky . Wepner was 36 years old at this time, and after winning eight straight fights (including a win over former WBA heavyweight champion Ernie Terrell ), had risen to number 8 in the heavyweight ranks. He had earned

7150-406: The fight is ruled the winner. With three judges, unanimous and split decisions are possible, as are draws. A boxer may win the bout before a decision is reached through a knock-out; such bouts are said to have ended "inside the distance". If a fighter is knocked down during the fight, determined by whether the boxer touches the canvas floor of the ring with any part of their body other than the feet as

7260-478: The fight to go to a decision if enough rounds (typically four or more, or at least three in a four-round fight) have passed. Unheard of in the modern era, but common during the early 20th Century in North America, a "newspaper decision (NWS)" might be made after a no decision bout had ended. A "no decision" bout occurred when, by law or by pre-arrangement of the fighters, if both boxers were still standing at

7370-433: The fight with Wepner, using his superior speed and boxing skills to mostly neutralize the challenger's offense. Despite quickly falling behind on points from the start, Wepner bravely fought on, taking everything the champion threw at him. Besides his courage and stamina, Wepner utilized his size along with a repertoire of "fouls and dirty tricks", which were used in the fight. Prior to the fight Wepner told his manager "Ali

7480-545: The fight's conclusion and there was no knockout, no official decision was rendered and neither boxer was declared the winner. But this did not prevent the pool of ringside newspaper reporters from declaring a consensus result among themselves and printing a newspaper decision in their publications. Officially, however, a "no decision" bout resulted in neither boxer winning or losing. Boxing historians sometimes use these unofficial newspaper decisions in compiling fight records for illustrative purposes only. Often, media outlets covering

7590-407: The fighter at the beginning of the fight and between rounds. Each boxer enters into the ring from their assigned corners at the beginning of each round and must cease fighting and return to their corner at the signalled end of each round. A bout in which the predetermined number of rounds passes is decided by the judges, and is said to "go the distance". The fighter with the higher score at the end of

7700-403: The fighters resting in their assigned corners and receiving advice and attention from their coach and staff. The fight is controlled by a referee who works within the ring to judge and control the conduct of the fighters, rule on their ability to fight safely, count knocked-down fighters, and rule on fouls. Up to three judges are typically present at ringside to score the bout and assign points to

7810-408: The fighters weigh under 165 pounds (75 kg), thus allowing them to wear ten ounce gloves. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands cleanly on the head or torso with sufficient force is awarded a point. A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows. A belt worn over the torso represents

7920-467: The film, resulting in Wepner later suing Stallone in 2003. The case was settled out of court, with Wepner receiving an undisclosed amount of money and the right to claim he was the inspiration for the film. Chuck Wepner's life and his title fight with Ali have been the subject of several documentaries and biopics . The most notable of which include the 2012 ESPN television special The Real Rocky , and

8030-678: The following year with the third fight between Ali and Joe Frazier in Manila , the capital of the Philippines , which King deemed the " Thrilla in Manila ". Aside from promoting the premier heavyweight fights of the 1970s, King was also busy expanding his boxing empire. Throughout the decade, he compiled an impressive roster of fighters, many of whom would finish their career with Hall of Fame credentials. Fighters including Larry Holmes , Wilfred Benítez , Roberto Durán , Salvador Sánchez , Wilfredo Gómez , and Alexis Argüello would all fight under

8140-400: The former to fight for the prize, which was accepted by the latter. Proper sidesmen were chosen, and every matter conducted in form. After several knock-down blows on both sides, the battle ended in favour of Mary Farmery. The London Prize Ring Rules introduced measures that remain in effect for professional boxing to this day, such as outlawing butting, gouging, scratching, kicking, hitting

8250-409: The foul. An intentional foul that causes injury that prevents a fight from continuing usually causes the boxer who committed it to be disqualified. A fighter who suffers an accidental low-blow may be given up to five minutes to recover, after which they may be ruled knocked out if they are unable to continue. Accidental fouls that cause injury ending a bout may lead to a "no contest" result, or else cause

8360-451: The help of singer Lloyd Price . Early on, he formed a partnership with a local promoter named Don Elbaum, who already had a stable of fighters in Cleveland and years of experience in boxing. In 1974, King negotiated to promote a heavyweight championship fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire , popularly known as " The Rumble in the Jungle ". The fight between Ali and Foreman was

8470-621: The knockout. A boxer must be well rounded to be effective using this style. Notable boxer-punchers include Muhammad Ali, Canelo Álvarez , Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr., Wladimir Klitschko, Vasyl Lomachenko , Lennox Lewis , Joe Louis , Wilfredo Gómez, Oscar De La Hoya , Archie Moore , Miguel Cotto , Nonito Donaire , Sam Langford , Henry Armstrong , Sugar Ray Robinson , Tony Zale , Carlos Monzón , Alexis Argüello , Érik Morales , Terry Norris , Marco Antonio Barrera , Naseem Hamed , Thomas Hearns , Julian Jackson and Gennady Golovkin . Muhammad Ali vs. Chuck Wepner Ali won

8580-400: The knuckle. There are cases however, where white ended gloves are not required but any solid color may be worn. The white end is just a way to make it easier for judges to score clean hits. Each competitor must have their hands properly wrapped, pre-fight, for added protection on their hands and for added cushion under the gloves. Gloves worn by the fighters must be twelve ounces in weight unless

8690-562: The latter winning the prize. Early fighting had no written rules. There were no weight divisions or round limits, and no referee. In general, it was extremely chaotic. An early article on boxing was published in Nottingham in 1713, by Sir Thomas Parkyns, 2nd Baronet , a wrestling patron from Bunny, Nottinghamshire , who had practised the techniques he described. The article, a single page in his manual of wrestling and fencing, Progymnasmata: The inn-play, or Cornish-hugg wrestler , described

8800-400: The limit to twelve rounds. Headgear is not permitted in professional bouts, and boxers are generally allowed to take much more damage before a fight is halted. At any time, the referee may stop the contest if he believes that one participant cannot defend himself due to injury. In that case, the other participant is awarded a technical knockout win. A technical knockout would also be awarded if

8910-405: The lower limit of punches – any boxer repeatedly landing low blows below the belt is disqualified. Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging. If this occurs, the referee separates the opponents and orders them to continue boxing. Repeated holding can result in a boxer being penalized or ultimately disqualified. Referees will stop the bout if

9020-561: The moniker "The Bayonne Bleeder" because he would readily get cut during boxing fights, and because he was from Bayonne, New Jersey . Prior to the Ali fight, Wepner had fought with Sonny Liston in Liston's final boxing match; after the bout Wepner had required 120 stitches. This was Ali's first boxing bout after reclaiming the heavyweight championship from George Foreman in The Rumble in

9130-455: The nut. Video Techniques had snatched the champion out of Top Rank's clutches but now had a mismatch in a cornfield; a million‐dollar turkey in a 5 and 10 cent store." Ali and Wepner did some television interviews together to promote the fight. They were on The Mike Douglas Show' ' when Ali leaned towards Wepner during a break and said: "Hey Chuck. Do me a favor. When they come back on stage, call me an effing n****r...We'll make it look like

9240-417: The opponent resigns . When the fight reaches the end of its final round with both opponents still standing, the judges' scorecards determine the victor. In case both fighters gain equal scores from the judges, a professional bout is considered a draw . In Olympic boxing, because a winner must be declared, judges award the contest to one fighter on technical criteria. Hitting with different extremities of

9350-420: The right to promote any future Ali fights. According to Shabazz, "Ali was ailing by then and mumbling a lot. I guess he needed the money." Shabazz later regretted helping King. Ali's lawyer cried when he learned that Ali had ended the lawsuit without telling him. Larry Holmes has alleged that over the course of his career, King cheated him out of $ 10 million in fight purses, including claiming 25% of his purses as

9460-502: The settlement be made public. In 2005, King launched a $ 2.5 billion defamation suit against the Walt Disney Pictures –owned ESPN , the makers of SportsCentury , after a documentary alleged that King had "killed, not once, but twice", threatened to break Larry Holmes ' legs, had a hospital invest in a film that was never made, cheated Meldrick Taylor out of $ 1 million, and then threatened to have Taylor killed. Though

9570-679: The sport more interesting to spectators. Professional boxing remains by far the most popular form of the sport globally, though amateur boxing is dominant in Cuba and some former Soviet republics. For most fighters, an amateur career, especially at the Olympics, serves to develop skills and gain experience in preparation for a professional career. Western boxers typically participate in one Olympics and then turn pro, while Cubans and boxers from other socialist countries have an opportunity to collect multiple medals. In 2016, professional boxers were admitted in

9680-636: The styles is, that each style has an advantage over one, but disadvantage over the other one. It follows the rock paper scissors scenario – boxer beats brawler, brawler beats swarmer, and swarmer beats boxer. A classic "boxer" or stylist (also known as an "out-fighter") seeks to maintain distance between himself and his opponent, fighting with faster, longer range punches, most notably the jab, and gradually wearing his opponent down. Due to this reliance on weaker punches, out-fighters tend to win by point decisions rather than by knockout, though some out-fighters have notable knockout records. They are often regarded as

9790-446: The summary judgment, but disagreed with the original finding that none of the statements were false. In any case, Judge Dorian Damoorgian ruled, "Nothing in the record shows that ESPN purposefully made false statements about King in order to bolster the theme of the program or to inflict harm on King". In May 2003, King was sued by Lennox Lewis , who wanted $ 385 million from the promoter, claiming King used threats to pull Tyson away from

9900-469: The term "the sweet science" as an epithet for prizefighting – or more fully "the sweet science of bruising" as a description of England's bare-knuckle fight scene in the early nineteenth century. Boxing could also be used to settle disputes even by females. In 1790 in Waddington, Lincolnshire Mary Farmery and Susanna Locker both laid claim to the affections of a young man; this produced a challenge from

10010-575: The third millennium BC. A relief sculpture from Egyptian Thebes ( c.  1350 BC ) shows both boxers and spectators. These early Middle-Eastern and Egyptian depictions showed contests where fighters were either bare-fisted or had a band supporting the wrist. The earliest evidence of use of gloves can be found in Minoan Crete ( c.  1500 –1400 BC). Various types of boxing existed in ancient India . The earliest references to musti-yuddha come from classical Vedic epics such as

10120-601: The torso is tilted forward and the hands are held closer to the face. Through the late nineteenth century, the martial art of boxing or prizefighting was primarily a sport of dubious legitimacy. Outlawed in England and much of the United States, prizefights were often held at gambling venues and broken up by police. Brawling and wrestling tactics continued, and riots at prizefights were common occurrences. Still, throughout this period, there arose some notable bare knuckle champions who developed fairly sophisticated fighting tactics. The English case of R v. Coney in 1882 found that

10230-414: The two became friends and shared a mutual admiration of one another. The fight was sufficiently inspiring for Sylvester Stallone (who watched the fight live) to partly base the character of Rocky Balboa on Wepner, and of Apollo Creed on Ali. Stallone would later rush home after the fight and in less than four days of near constant writing, had completed his screenplay about an underdog fighter who gets

10340-408: The waist were prohibited. Broughton encouraged the use of "mufflers", a form of padded bandage or mitten, to be used in "jousting" or sparring sessions in training, and in exhibition matches. These rules did allow the fighters an advantage not enjoyed by today's boxers; they permitted the fighter to drop to one knee to end the round and begin the 30-second count at any time. Thus a fighter realizing he

10450-402: The wearing of weapons became common once again and interest in fighting with the fists waned. However, there are detailed records of various fist-fighting sports that were maintained in different cities and provinces of Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries. There was also a sport in ancient Rus called kulachniy boy or 'fist fighting'. As the wearing of swords became less common, there

10560-523: The word "boxing" first came to be used. This earliest form of modern boxing was very different. Contests in Mr. Figg's time, in addition to fist fighting, also contained fencing and cudgeling. On 6 January 1681, the first recorded boxing match took place in Britain when Christopher Monck , 2nd Duke of Albemarle (and later Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica ), engineered a bout between his butler and his butcher with

10670-434: Was a genuine knockdown. After knocking Ali down, Wepner went to his corner and told his manager: "Start the car up, Al, we're going to the bank, we're millionaires!", whereupon the manager told Wepner: "You better turn around--your guy's getting up and he looks pissed off." Ali went on to punish Wepner for the remaining five rounds, opening cuts on his face and causing his eyes to swell up. The final round culminated with

10780-549: Was a popular spectator sport in Ancient Rome . Fighters protected their knuckles with leather strips wrapped around their fists. Eventually harder leather was used and the strips became a weapon. Metal studs were introduced to the strips to make the cestus . Fighting events were held at Roman amphitheatres . Records of boxing activity disappeared in the west after the fall of the Western Roman Empire when

10890-520: Was also used by fictional boxer Apollo Creed . A boxer-puncher is a well-rounded boxer who is able to fight at close range with a combination of technique and power, often with the ability to knock opponents out with a combination and in some instances a single shot. Their movement and tactics are similar to that of an out-fighter (although they are generally not as mobile as an out-fighter), but instead of winning by decision, they tend to wear their opponents down using combinations and then move in to score

11000-510: Was an exclusive promotional contract with Don King, two were managerial contracts with Carl King, identical except one was "for show" that gave Carl King 33% of Witherspoon's purses and the other gave King a 50% share, more than is allowed by many boxing commissions. The fourth contract was completely blank. Other examples include Witherspoon being promised $ 150,000 for his fight with Larry Holmes but receiving only $ 52,750. King's son Carl took 50% of Witherspoon's purse, illegal under Nevada rules, and

11110-691: Was announced as the financier of the Bomaye Fight Club in Major League Wrestling . As of 2024, King still promotes world champions and is in talks with Canadian Boxing promoter Dan Otter to stage the WBC Cruiserweight World Title bout sometime this year. Don King's wife, Henrietta, died on December 2, 2010, at the age of 87. They had one biological daughter, Debbie, a son, Eric and adopted son Carl, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren. King

11220-474: Was born in Cleveland , Ohio, where he attended school and graduated from John Adams High in 1951. After dropping out of Kent State University , he ran an illegal bookmaking operation out of the basement of a record store on Kinsman Road and was charged with killing two men in incidents 13 years apart. The first was determined to be justifiable homicide after it was found that King shot Hillary Brown in

11330-484: Was born. People looked on him as the all-American tragedy, a man without much mentality and few social graces. But he has deep emotion and spirituality and good patriotism. And he has a good nature, although nature has not been particularly good to him. I have always seen him as a 20th Century gladiator in a pair of sneakers. Like so many of us, he is out of sync with the times. To all this, I injected doses of my own personal life, of my frustration at not getting anywhere. At

11440-410: Was hospitalized for an unspecified illness that required a blood transfusion. Widespread concern for King's health was prompted by a Mike Tyson media interview where he said, "You know, Don is not doing well right now. He's probably close to 100 years old. He's not doing well." King has been investigated for possible connections with organized crime . During a 1992 Senate investigation, King invoked

11550-414: Was in trouble had an opportunity to recover. However, this was considered "unmanly" and was frequently disallowed by additional rules negotiated by the seconds of the boxers. In modern boxing, there is a three-minute limit to rounds (unlike the downed fighter ends the round rule). Intentionally going down in modern boxing will cause the recovering fighter to lose points in the scoring system. Furthermore, as

11660-744: Was never paid a stipulated $ 100,000 for his training expenses and instead was billed $ 150 a day for using King's training camp. Carl King again received 50% of his purse, despite Don King Productions falsely claiming he had only been paid 33%. HBO paid King $ 1,700,000 for Witherspoon to fight Frank Bruno . Witherspoon got a purse of $ 500,000 but received only $ 90,000 after King's deductions. Carl King received $ 275,000. In 1987, Witherspoon sued King for $ 25 million in damages. He eventually settled for $ 1 million out of court. Former undisputed World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson has described King, his former promoter, as "ruthless", "deplorable", and "greedy". In 1998, Tyson sued King for $ 100 million, alleging that

11770-530: Was quoted as saying, "He did more bad to black fighters than any white promoter ever in the history of boxing." King has been charged with killing two people in incidents 13 years apart. In 1954, King shot a man in the back after spotting him trying to rob one of his gambling houses; this incident was ruled a justifiable homicide . In 1967, King was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for stomping one of his employees to death because he owed him $ 600. For this, he served three years and eleven months in prison. King

11880-488: Was renewed interest in fencing with the fists. The sport later resurfaced in England during the early 16th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing , sometimes referred to as prizefighting . The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury , and the first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719. This is also the time when

11990-437: Was sued by Muhammad Ali for underpaying him $ 1.1 million for a fight with Larry Holmes . King called in an old friend of Ali, Jeremiah Shabazz, and handed him a suitcase containing $ 50,000 in cash and a letter ending Ali's lawsuit against King. He asked Shabazz to visit Ali (who was in the hospital due to his failing health) and get him to sign the letter and then give Ali the $ 50,000, and Ali signed it. The letter even gave King

12100-529: Was underpaid by $ 2 to $ 3 million. Holmes sued King after King deducted a $ 300,000 'finder's fee' from his fight purse against Mike Tyson ; Holmes settled for $ 150,000 and also signed a legal agreement pledging not to give any more negative information about King to reporters. Tim Witherspoon was threatened with being blackballed if he did not sign exclusive contracts with King and his stepson Carl. Not permitted to have his own lawyer present, he signed four "contracts of servitude" (according to Jack Newfield ). One

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