Don King Wins Court Order to Stop an MMA Fight

Filed under: Celebrity News, Dr. Boyce Money

Saturday, a judge in Florida barred a fight including former boxing champion Ricardo Mayorga from going forward at a Shine Fights Mixed Martial Arts card later in the evening. This forced the entire pay-per-view card to be canceled.

Promoter Don King was behind the cancellation, convincing Broward County Judge Marc H. Gold that Mayorga’s participation was primarily because of the brand he’d built as a boxer, and would thus interfere with his exclusive deal with Don King Promotions.Mayorga was planning to fight Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Din Thomas in the main event. Shine Fights was going to proceed with the event in spite of the court order. However, the North Carolina Athletic Commission stopped the fight a few hours before it was set to begin.

There was obviously a huge financial loss due to the cancellation, but Shine CEO Devin Price says he isn’t worried about the money.

“I’m not concerned about the money, quite honestly,” Price said. “I feel very badly for the fighters. They were ready to go and we wanted to put the show on (without Mayorga), even after the judge gave Don King injunctive relief. We felt we had a fantastic card that fans would appreciate. The commission, at the last minute and for reasons I’m not sure of, decided to cancel the event. “We are in the process of working out how the fighters will be paid, how much that will be. But we’re a fighter’s organization and we’re going to take care of them.”

King has promoted Mayorga since 2001. He sought the injunction to bar Mayorga from fighting because his contract covers all combat sports. The judge told King to post a $1 million dollar cash bond in case Shine wins an appeal and can prove financial damages. King brought the money to the courthouse in two duffel bags within two hours.

Don King is one of the wealthiest African American public figures in the country, with a net worth of $290 million. He has been a promoter since the days of Muhammad Ali and has been a staple in professional boxing for decades. At 78 years old, he is still an active and powerful force in professional boxing and all of entertainment. His legacy will be controversial, but one can hardly argue that Don King has not had a tremendous impact on professional sports.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book, “Black American Money.” To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

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