King in the boxing world after convincing Muhammad Ali box in a charity exhibition for a local hospital in Cleveland with the help of singer Lloyd Price. He asked a cooperation with a local promoter named Thursday Elbaum, who already had a stable of fighters in Cleveland and years of experience in boxing.

In 1974, King negotiated a heavyweight championship fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in (DR Congo) Zaire, in the popular known as "The Rumble in the Jungle." [4] The fight between Ali and Foreman was a much-anticipated event. King's rivals all sought to promote the bout, but King was able to secure the then record purse of $ 10 million through a scheme with the Zairean government.

King solidified its position as one of boxing's preeminent promoters the following year with the third fight between Ali and Joe Frazier in Manila [5], the capital of the Philippines, which King deemed the "Thrilla in Manila." [6] In addition to promoting the Premier heavyweight battle of the 1970s, King was also working to expand his empire boxing. During the decade, he compiled an impressive list of fighters, many of whom would end their career with Hall of Fame credentials. Fighters like Larry Holmes, Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran, Salvador Sánchez, Wilfredo Gómez, and Alexis Arguello would all fight under the Don King Productions promotional banner in the 1970s.

For the next two decades, the king is still among the most successful boxing promoters. Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Julio César Chávez, Aaron Pryor, Bernard Hopkins, Ricardo Lopez, Felix Trinidad, Terry Norris, Carlos Zarate, Azumah Nelson, Andrzej Gołota, Mike McCallum, Gerald McClellan, Meldrick Taylor and Marco Antonio Barrera are some of the boxers who chose King to promote a large number of their biggest battles [7].

Outside boxing, he also managed the Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour.