Īfter 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. King was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended school and graduated from John Adams High in 1951. For this, he served three years and eleven months in prison. In 1967, King was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for stomping one of his employees to death. 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. King has been charged with killing two people in incidents 13 years apart. Mike Tyson was quoted as saying, 'He did more bad to black fighters than any white promoter ever in the history of boxing.' Most of the lawsuits were settled out of court. Some of these boxers sued him for allegedly defrauding them.

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, and Christy Martin.

King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting ' The Rumble in the Jungle' and the ' Thrilla in Manila'. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well as allegations of dishonest business practices by numerous boxers.

' The Thrilla in Manila', ' The Rumble in the Jungle'ĭonald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups.

King's court casino