Mike Tyson seems to have moved past his grievances with famed boxing promoter Don King for good. The two men once shared a business relationship for 22 years after meeting at the start of the heavyweight champion’s career in the ring in 1988.
Tyson, 58, recently appeared on the “It Is What It Is” show, sharing where he and the 93-year-old now stand. Speaking with host Cam’ron, the retired athlete shared that his ex-business partner recently called him.
“We spoke and we said that we love each other,” Tyson said, noting that the aging icon’s health is in decline.
He was then asked if his feelings regarding claims that King took advantage of him had changed. “No, believe Don King, he pretty much educated me, you know, that will never happen again. That’s the difference of about getting taken advantage of, is experience. So that won’t happen again,” said “The Hangover” actor.
Tyson’s dealings with King became strained at the turn of the millennium when the boxer claimed that he was financially exploited. Their fallout was plastered in the headlines when the iron-fisted New Yorker sued the businessman for $100 million in 1998. He alleged that the promoter defrauded him with bad contracts and that King pocketed excessive income. The case was settled with Tyson collecting $14 million.
#OnThisDay 23 years ago:
— KT_BOXING (@KT_BOXING) February 5, 2021
Former two-time champion Mike Tyson files $100-million lawsuit against Don King in U.S. District Court. Mike alleges that traitorous longtime promoter systematically defrauded him tens of millions of dollars over a 10-year period.#boxing #history #otd pic.twitter.com/3Laq2lasFp
They would continue to work together for two more years despite their contentious relationship. In 2000, Tyson fired King and other members of his management team. He said that he had been taken advantage of and accused King of rigging his fights — most famously when Tyson suffered a knockout in his match against Douglas Buster in 1990.
Cam’ron dug deeper into their bad blood, asking, “Did you have to put your hands on him?” The “Hotboxin’” podcast host responded, “Well, I was, yeah.” Tyson wrote about attacking King in his 2013 autobiography, “Undisputed Truth.”
The boxer and promoter agreed to meet in Florida, where King lived, to discuss a potential reconciliation in 2003. That same year, the retired athlete filed for bankruptcy after accumulating a debt of $23 million.
While on his former mentor’s private jet, Tyson gave into his vices and got high on cocaine.
“The drugs were playing with my head and I was freaking out and getting jealous,” Tyson wrote. When King picked him up in a Rolls-Royce with Tyson’s former chauffeur, Isadore Bolton, whom he alleges King stole from him, it sent the boxer over the edge.
He recalled, “We were driving down to Miami from Fort Lauderdale on the I-95. Don said some innocuous thing, and all that jealousy and rage spilled out of me and I kicked him in his f—king head. Boom! You don’t turn your back on a jealous cokehead.”
The attack escalated as he admitted to choking King, who was in the passenger seat, before being kicked out of the vehicle.
Michael Moorer, Don King, Mike Tyson, Emmanuel Steward and Gerald McClellan #boxing #history pic.twitter.com/xtCPVsHJRv
— Boxing History (@BoxingHistory) February 19, 2020
Fans caught a clip of Tyson’s latest comments about his and King’s relationship and one person noticed how quiet it got when Mike described the incident. “Mike make everybody nervous.” Another said, “He got so serious when they asked bout putting hands on him.” Those tough business lessons were not exclusive to the promoter, according to one listener who wrote, “Everyone got over on him in the beginning.”
Another onlooker surmised that the end of the men’s working relationship contributed to Tyson’s career dwindling. “Mike wit don king. 100 mill a fight …..Mike without don king peanuts for a fight,” read the comment.
Tyson retired in 2005 but has since announced his plans to return to the ring against YouTube influencer Jake Paul.
Despite complications of aging, King says he is “doing fine” and is continuing to promote fights.
