Don King has been hit with a lawsuit and is being sued for $3 billion.
BYD Sports and BYD Management are suing the legendary boxing promoter and claim that King had “misled them with regard to their 50th anniversary Rumble in the Jungle 2 event,” reports say.
If you remember, King was the promoter for the first “Rumble in the Jungle” fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974 and is currently being sued in the Southern District of New York. The CEO of BYD Sports, Cecil Miller, is suing King for fraud, defamation, breach of contract, and more according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claims that Don King’s production company, Don King Productions, sabotaged BYD’s event on purpose during the final stages of planning. Miller said that he had been working with King for over a year when King’s production company sent him a cease-and-desist letter stating his company had no affiliation with the event.
The lawsuit also states that King urged Miller to pursue the 50th anniversary in Africa. King allegedly withdrew his support as BYD worked on the lineup of boxing matches, sponsors, musical events, and more.
“My clients have received information that you are falsely representing to the Nigerian Government and others that DK/DKP has authorized you to stage an event known as ‘Rumble In The Jungle 50th Anniversary/The Freedom Belt (RJ50/Freedom Belt),’ this, as you well know, is not true,” Don King Promotions wrote in a cease-and-desist letter to BYD Sports. “DK/DKP does not and has not granted you permission to solicit, discuss, negotiate, or arrange this Event or any event under the guise of being affiliated with DK or DKP.”
Miller’s attorney Anthony J.M. Jones said, “It’s confounding when you look at how many people were working on this.” He continued, “This is just a sad day for the sport. We are now in 2025 and there will never be a chance to do a 50th anniversary of a fight between Foreman and Ali- and to do it in Africa.”
BYD Sports is seeking $600 million, from the original fight between Ali and Foreman grossing $100 million with more than a billion viewers globally, plus $2.4 billion in prospective damages and a formal written apology.