Avila Perspective, Chap 172: The Return of Don King, Pomona and More

Once upon a time a Don King Productions was synonymous with big boxing events on a regular basis. Think Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes and, of course, Muhammad Ali.

In other words, the heavyweight title lineage with all the smaller kings getting in line behind the big guys, that’s what Don King was all about.

He’s back.

King, now 90, presents another large fight card called “Return to Greatness” featuring WBA heavyweight titlist Trevor Bryan (21-0, 15 KOs) protecting his version of the title against Jonathan Guidry (17-0-2, 10 KOs) on Saturday. Jan. 29, at the Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio. The pay-per-view card will be shown on DonKing.com.

The seemingly ageless promoter always brings a burst of energy not seen in other boxing promotions. Its hard to describe how the man who brought the world “Rumble in the Jungle,” “Thrilla in Manilla” and other still-remembered fight cards with the large assistance of Muhammad Ali.

Once Ali retired, King carried on with a style of promoting not seen before and now copied on a regular basis.

During this promotion and flanked by two of his proteges, Christy “Coalminer’s Daughter” Martin and Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, the tall promoter began slowly to talk about the current fight card. After a few minutes you could see and hear his energy rev up like an old Packard that’s engine sat dormant for months. Once he got going the engine began to roar.

“The star of this show is what America is all about. Opportunity. Yesterday’s nobody is tomorrow’s somebody,” bellowed King followed by his recognizable laugh. “I talked to my spiritual guide who is Jose Sulaiman. I’m a Mexicano. I’ve been able to deal with all of the Cinco de Mayos. I’m like Emiliano Zapata to Pancho Villa who fight for the people.”

You get the picture.

King has been promoting since the 1970s and has long been known for his large fight cards. I remember attending one myself in the early 2000s in Las Vegas. It started at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning and ended at 1 a.m. Sunday. True story.

“I’m just so excited about this show and I’m excited about these characters,” said King “This is for the love of the people.”

Along with Bryan defending the heavyweight title, a battle between cruiserweights also takes place as Ilunga Makabu (28-2, 25 KOs) defends the WBC title against Thabiso Mchunu (23-5, 13 KOs) in a world title fight between southpaws from Africa.

Makabu has been mentioned as a possible foe for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as King mentioned.

“We are ready to accommodate him,” said King regarding Canelo. “One thing we are demonstrating to the world is ain’t no mountain high, no mountain low to keep us from dealing with what the world is going on.”

Top Rank

Brazil’s Robson Conceicao (16-1, 8 KOs) faces undefeated Xavier Martinez (17-0, 11 KOs) in the main event on Saturday. Jan. 29, at Tulsa, Oklahoma. ESPN will televise the super featherweight battle.

Conceicao was last seen battling with WBC super featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez and losing a close decision to the champion in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona last September.

“After the fight with Valdez, I walked out of the ring very happy with my performance,” said Conceicao. “Martinez is a very tough fighter. We will be battling for our lives inside the ring.”

Martinez, 24, fights out of Sacramento, Calif. and recently defeated Juan Carlos Burgos and Claudio Marrero back-to-back. Both are top quality wins.

“Those last two fights were very tough and got me ready for this moment right here. I’ve been putting the work in, and I can’t let this opportunity slip by me,” said Martinez.

Pomona

In Southern California, a large boxing card presented by MarvNation features a main event between Angel Rodriguez (10-0, 7 KOs) and Jose Marrufo (12-10-2) for the USNBC Silver lightweight title on Saturday /Jan. 29, at the Derby Room in Pomona, Calif. The Derby Room was formerly known as the Finish Line Sports Grill and is located on the Pomona Fairgrounds.

The fight card will be streamed on MarvNation’s YouTube.com channel live.

“We’re ready to take this company to another level,” said Marvin Rodriguez, CEO of MarvNation Promotions. “That’s why we’ve decided to host a show every month this year at the Derby Room starting on Jan. 29, which will feature rising talents like Angel Rodriguez, Alejandro Reyes, Raul Salomon and many more. Make sure to watch it in person or through our official YouTube channel. It’s going to be an exciting night of action.”

It’s a large card featuring local talent from the Southern California region. Tickets can be purchased via Tix.com or by clicking here.

Fights to Watch

Fri. Fightstars.tv 6 p.m. Alexis Salazar (23-4) vs Valentin Martinez (10-2-1).

Sat. DonKing.com ppv 4 p.m. Trevor Bryan (21-0) vs Jonathan Guidry (17-0-2); Ilunga Makabu (28-2) vs Thabiso Mchunu (23-5); Michael Moore 18-3) vs Anthony Lenk (17-7).

Sat. MarvNation.com 6 p.m. Angel Rodriguez (10-0) vs Jose Marrufo (12-10-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Robson Conceicao (16-1) vs Xavier Martinez (17-0).

Photo credit: DKP

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