The ‘King’ is back, or at least that’s how it appears for now. Roughly a year after he promoted the Adrien Broner-Blair Cobbs headliner in Florida, Don King will mark a comeback in boxing’s prima donna division, the heavyweight. For many fans who view King’s career both in awe and in suspicion, it’s a surprising development. While a few took to their keypads and penned their thoughts, not all sounded enthusiastic, though.

Most diehards remember Don King for the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ or the more famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle.’ But then, given how lawsuits, including the $100 million filed by Mike Tyson, tainted his later career, some still view the veteran promoter’s presence with reservations. Reportedly, King plans to hold the title fight between WBA (regular) champion Kubrat Pulev and Michael Hunter on August 23. The venue remains unconfirmed.

Don King looks to reassert himself in the heavyweight division

With bold letters, @EverythingBoxing updated, “🚨 DON KING WINS PULEV-HUNTER BID.” So, according to the boxing news service, King has reportedly ‘won’ the purse bid of $1.1 million to secure the promotional rights of the Kubrat-Hunter match. “The fight will take place on Aug. 23 at a site to be determined in the United States,” the message read before adding, “The Pulev-Hunter winner will be ordered to face the victor of the June 7 WBA interim title fight between Fabio Wardley and Justis Huni.”

Though not as active as he used to be, King, who was hospitalized last year, is still remembered by many for the lawsuits that he faced over the years. Perhaps none stood out more than the $100 million case filed by Mike Tyson in 1998. Reports indicate that King agreed to pay Tyson $14 million, settling the dispute out of court.

Let’s check out what a few users said about the news.

Still, it faces a flood of skepticism and questions

If this user shared their suspicion unhesitatingly, “King keeps 1 million & pays the fighters 20K each,” another one added, “They aren’t getting paid.” Now that’s a discourse that might continue to prevail. Tyson wasn’t the only heavyweight champion to take legal action against Don King over alleged financial misconduct. Back in the day, Larry Holmes also made similar claims.

Some, like this fan, were concerned about how Don King would pull up the finances to promote the fight. “Yea, we’ve seen that before. Wins the rights and then can’t put the money up,” they said. It’s not clear which fight or instance the fan had been hinting at. Nonetheless, isn’t it too early to speculate so wildly?

But the fighters not getting paid was a sentiment that ran far and wide. This user said, “That’s both fighters being ripped off then.” As far as the matchup is concerned, one follower seemed certain about its fate. They said, “I’d bet my life on this fight not happening.” Perhaps their hunch is based on what happened to last year’s doomed matchup between cruiserweight challenger Ryan Rozicki and Noel Mikaelyan.

Skepticism was perhaps unsurprising, given Don King’s well-known past.

Nonetheless, on paper, the Pulev-Hunter matchup sounds exciting. With champion Oleksandr Usyk set to defend his title against Daniel Dubois on July 19, the race to the top is becoming increasingly intriguing, as more contenders scramble for pole position.

What’s your take on Don King’s return to heavyweight promotion?