The relationship between Mike Tyson and his former promoter, Don King, was tumultuous, to say the least. However, their past feud seems to have had quite the effect on the veteran promoter, as he refused to comment on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson cross-generational fight.

All the way back in 1998, the youngest heavyweight champion sued his former promoter for $100 million, claiming he had been cheated out of millions throughout the course of their working relationship. Though ‘Iron’ Mike settled it out of court with King for $14 million, their relationship never recovered. Fast forward to last night at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, where Adrien Broner fought Blair Cobbs, a reporter from Fight Hype caught up with King to get his thoughts on Tyson’s fight with the Problem Child.

Don King chants ‘Viva Puerto Rico’

Since the fight was announced earlier this year, the entire community was excited to see Tyson return to the ring in a professional fight. However, during a Miami to Los Angeles bound flight, Tyson suffered a medical emergency, which ended up postponing the fight to November 15. 

When King was asked by Fight Hype about his former star prospect setting out to battle with a medical emergency at 57, King absolutely refused to say a word about Tyson’s fight, instead chanting “Viva Puerto Rico”. When the reporter tried to probe further to get some type of reaction from the veteran promoter, King spoke about Puerto Rico instead.

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“I have no thoughts other than boxing is great, and it’s going back to the fans and we’re going back to Puerto Rico for where all the fans were, not the judges, not the organizations. The fans become champions of the people and that’s why I say ‘Viva Puerto Rico’,” said Don King ecstatically.

Whether to avoid drama with Tyson or to stay neutral, King wanted nothing to do with Mike Tyson. And why would he, especially since Mike Tyson blamed him for his first career loss?

Mike Tyson believed Don King was behind his first loss

Mike Tyson took on Buster Douglas back in 1990 and recorded his first-ever career loss, which shocked the entire world. All the way in Tokyo, Tyson sent Douglas to the canvas with an uppercut in the eighth, but by the time the tenth round rolled around Douglas had knocked out Tyson.

During an episode of Boxing Arabia podcast, featuring John Fury, Tyson reflected on the fight as he said, “Don King did that bulls**t; Don King set me up. I never said that before, but it made sense. The 42-1 (odds), I could win this, him and the referee talk that bulls**t, because I don’t want to tell you what we did before”.

Tyson alleged that Don King and the referee were in cahoots, and that’s why the referee gave Douglas a longer ten-count when he was knocked down in the eighth. He implied that King had placed a bet against him, so his loss was really profitable for King.

Don King’s silence on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson bout speaks volumes. As a seasoned promoter known for his flamboyant persona and outspoken nature, his refusal to comment hints at their strained relationship and his reluctance to potentially anger Mike Tyson. Why do you think Don King didn’t want to speak about Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul?