WBA heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois has filed a lawsuit against Hall of Fame promoter Don King alleging that he wasn’t paid for his fight with Trevor Bryan on DKP’s June 11 event in Miami.
King responded by saying he’s been requesting banking and wire information from Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren for two months. After not getting a reply, King’s lawyer Tony Gonzalez put the funds in escrow waiting for Warren to respond. DuBois’ lawyer Leon Margules finally sent the wire instructions after Warren and Queensberry Promotions failed to reply to Don King Promotions’ multiple requests for wire instructions.
Warren and his promotional company, Queensberry Promotions, had the television rights payment for BT Sports deducted from the purse, per the agreement.
King has already paid DuBois’ foreign taxes to the IRS of $420,660.12.
“I have talked with DuBois and his father about the matter,” said King. “I’ve told them the money was in escrow and waiting for DuBois’ promoter and manager, Frank Warren, wiring instructions.
“Did Frank lose my number? He knows where to reach me.
“I love Frank Warren. His word, honor, and integrity have been above and beyond any contract or agreement with me. His word has been his bond…impeccable! I am deeply hurt and terribly disappointed in what is happening now.
“I’ve never not paid a fighter and this is certainly not the case here.”
King’s lawyer Gonzalez added, “DKP has made all requisite payments towards Mr. Dubois’ purse.
“Pursuant to Florida State Athletic Commission Director Patrick Cunningham’s instructions, proof of payment in the form of the payment for the 30% IRS backup withholding was provided along with $475,000 setoff towards Mr. Dubois’ purse at the instruction of Mr. Dubois’ promoter, Queensbury.”
“Additionally, and at the instruction of Mr. Cunningham, an escrow deposit was made in the amount of $134,000.00 representing a final balance due Mr. Dubois after applying a setoff of $319,000 for outstanding monies owed DKP by Mr. Warren. Also, all sanction fees owed by Mr. Dubois were paid in full to the WBA.”
Crooked Don King. It’s never about whether King paid a fighter, but how much of a percentage did King cheat the fighter out of. Typically, a substantial percentage of a fighter’s purse is what King somehow manages to keep for himself.
Somebody ought to do a kinship analysis with Don King and “Col” Tom Parker. He never not paid anyone either.
The book ‘The life and crimes of Don King’ by Newfield Jack is a fabulous read that I could not put down till it was finished.
I believe King has always paid his fighters—-whatever King sees fit to pay them is the million dollar question. He will sign said fighter to make X amount of dollars then when all is said and done King deducts bogus expenses that his fighter was said to have spent with his entourage right down to the sodas! No joke, I remember Julio Cesar Chavez found King to have deducted thousands of dollars for junk food and soda pops. King made bank on sunflower seeds and Pepsi that Chavez’s team allegedly feasted on. Talk about gouging and nickel and diming only thing is King made a 1000+ mark up on those sodas!
Scandalous scum bag to say the least.
God all of you people are stupid. You cannot deduct from a boxers purse. It doesn’t happen. And that’s why the commission is there. There are security deposits and bonds up with all commissions to protect the fighter. It doesn’t happen. Want to know who actually takes from the fighters purse? Managers! Usually 33%, then they deduct everything else. Learn the game fellas. Sad.
George, have you signed a contract with Don King and got paid exactly what the contract stated? Have you ever been behind the scenes of his shenanigans? No you haven’t so stop being so ignorant and acting like you know the exact details of what goes on behind the scenes. There are countless boxers who will tell you corrupt stories of his shady dealings the list actually goes on and on so do yourself a favor George and stick to your true love-Mens figure skating sunshine!
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Been in the game 30 years, in all areas and at all levels of the sport. And so to this day. You don’t think it’s possible that some fighters are shady? The figher will get what’s on his contract with the commission. If the fighter is stupid enough to agree to assign a side contract and get paid on that instead of being protected by the commission. Attention all fighters, whatever your guaranteed purse is, make sure its on the contract regulated by the commission.
The big problem here is that most of these boxers can’t read write or count let alone understand the business or the contract. Blame the dummies not The Don!
“You cannot deduct from a boxers purse. It doesn’t happen.”
– If a fighter doesn’t make weight, and the other fighter agrees to $$ for the fight to continue, the $$ are deducted from the fighter’s purse.
– Yes / No ?
So it’s King’s fault if a fighter doesn’t make weight? Weight penalty deductions are a part of the game, the promoter doesn’t benefit from it. The penalty funds go to the opponent. Again, understand the game. People are oblivious.
Don King ADMITTED he hasn’t paid Dubios. You need to actually read the article, dude.
George, im not quite sure what your intentions are with your comment outside of suggesting that the greatest of boxing promoter Don King is not up there with the greatest of ripping off some of the finest fighters of our generation. Many who have told of stories especially the 80’s heavyweights like Tim Witherspoon.
This man should hurry up and die already! He has hurt the financial lives of so many fighters and their families. Fighters who risk their lives every single time they train and climb through the ropes for a fight! What an unscrupulous scumbag
Borimex, come on man. Not cool to wish death upon somebody.
Don King is a recidivist. This is 2022. In this electronic age, Don King does not stand a chance in court. DDD will get his money, and DDD could get punitive damages on top of it. Amber Heard is paying Johnny The Creep, The View is paying Kyle, and Don King WILL pay DDD.
Don King should also lose his promoters license after this nonsense. Don, your criminal ways might have worked in the 70’s when money could not be traced, but this is 2022. Your antiquated criminal methods are obsolete.
I personally saw a check written to my friend who fought on a DKP card in Vegas many years ago. Also had a deductions list, nothing to frivolous but there money taken out for numerous things.
I wish I was Mike Tysons friend years ago, I would have warned him, he should have known back then!!!
He, like dozens of others, were warned. By lots and lots of people. They didn’t listen.
The real crooks are the governing bodies and their “sanction fees.” I wonder how much money was kicked over to the WBA? A belt can’t be that expensive!
Don King is that dangerous combination of super smart and crooked AF. Bit like DC’s Joker.
Don King uses the ‘Black brother’ argument to attract fighters and then rips them off.
Don King is the black usurper Joe Biden.
We’ll he probably has paid his fighters but not all he owes. I fought on his card when I just started fighting and my purse was to be 800 dollars and he only paid me 400. Never got the rest.
From BoxRec:
Steve Quinonez
The Mongoose
Box-pro 32 14 0
1994-2009
Lightweight
Palm Springs, California, USA
Great promoter yet still crooked smh
I never fought on his card but have met him. Some fighters like Gerrie Coetzee had nothing but praise for Don King. King also invited young fighters to train at his camp in Orwell, Ohio
Yes, King is from Ohio which makes sense about the Orwell camp. The Don King era is coming to an end. Don was a great promoter at one point and has put some great cards together. However, nothing last forever and it’s time to move on. I see Don promoting less and less fighters over the past years.
The MASTER…Still at the Tricks!!!
So, Don King evidently is incapable of simply cutting a check and FedEx’ing it to whomever was identified as the funds recipient in the bout contract? Yeah. Sure.
its all business baby
Con artist Don King at it again. Why would somebody NOT want to get paid!!?? How many times in the past has King been sued by fighters, because they couldn’t get payouts from Don King!? Don King is a pathologically liar.
If I’m not mistaken, a promoter would lose his license if he didn’t pay the fighters. But I guess that’s up to the commission.
At least Iron Mike beat the shit out of him
Surprise surprise DK forgets .
So you are saying you only paid Dubois 134,000 and the rest of the money you kept and deducted 319,000 as expense that where owed to DK?!.. thats why you didnt pay the full amount? and I bet you didn’t disclose all the things you were going to deduct from Dubois.. you just did things on your own?! Right DK… ?! Ridiculous! Outrages!
I can understand not wanting to give Don King your bank details.
B@ll5 the size of boulders. Don, you have ripped off 110% of the fighters you ever worked with. I remember wishing for the day that Don was no longer in charge, but he was just replaced by multiple scam artists. The game does not change, only the players do.
True……..you just didn’t always pay them in full. Always some excuse given to the fighter why he’s being ripped off
Don King is always at fault for the boxers / managers not understanding the business. Don King work for the fighter, they don’t work for him, so yeah if he’s able to find a way to get more for his efforts then why not? They all have other options other than Don King….