Promoter Don King pens open letter to Frank Warren
Following accusations from Daniel Dubois of not being paid his promised fight purse, promoter Don King released an open letter sent fo former friend Frank Warren.
The 90-year-old American promoter talks about a debt owed to him by Warren and expresses feeling deeply hurt by the Briton's recent actions and words.
Read the full letter below:
Dear Frank,
I am very hurt, and terribly disappointed about the nasty things that you are saying about me. I have always held you in very high esteem. Your word has been your bond. You acknowledge to me that you owed me $200,000 dollars, and you guaranteed me with your word that you would pay me what you owed me. You said things were a little rough for you at the time cash wise but, that I have your word and your personal guarantee that when you were able, you would take care of the debt owed. With your word given to me that you would take care of the debt owed, that was good enough for me, my friend. Who is this guy pretending to be you mouthing out this total bullshit, if I owed you any money, why didn’t you sue me?
Friends don’t sue friends when a friend personally guarantees his debt obligations to his friend, unless they collectively come together to bring the truth and justice out to a business deal where other people are involved, your wonderful son George on the phone with me and my attorney, Tony Gonzalez, acknowledge during our negotiation your debt to me saying, “we can work my dad’s debt out or how can we work it out?” or something to that effect. The main thing is that he acknowledged the debt, which you had to tell him that you owe to me. That’s the great kind of relationship I thought we enjoyed between Frank Warren and Don King. Then, to hear this pretender Frank Warren say that our relationship was all total bullshit, was a shocking revelation and a deep hurting, great disappointment to me.
You and I have always had an honorable relationship, our word was given to each other with impeccable integrity between us, which goes over and beyond a contract or an agreement, which I have put into writing before, and I have acted accordingly, as your real true friend. Now, I refuse to get into a spitting contest with you for public discussion and review as to who is right and who is wrong. You know that the false narrative which you are expressing about me is wrong… And I know that the false narrative that you are expressing about me is wrong!!! More importantly, the new WBA Heavyweight champion, Daniel Dubois, not getting paid was absolutely wrong. All you had to do was to pick up the phone to answer one of the many requests by my attorney for your bank wiring instructions and tell me what amount you wanted to pay me on the old outstanding debt account or that you didn’t want to pay any amount at this time, on the old outstanding debt account. Then, me and you, as always, would come together, with or without any payment on the old outstanding debt account, and pay the new heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois his much-deserved full purse. But, not to pay him anything on his much-deserved purse because of the amount I deducted on our old outstanding debt account according to the facts on the records and the books of the old outstanding debt account, was a terrible mistake by Frank the pretender.
One discussion between my great friend Frank Warren and Don King would have resolved this non-existing problem. Our wonderful friendship between Frank Warren and Don King deserves a discussion to clear up this terrible misunderstanding. It begged for a discussion then, before the fight, and it continues to beg for a discussion now, after the fight. A discussion, not with the attitude of that pretender who claims to be Frank Warren, stating categorically that this is all bullshit… I don’t know who that guy is, that Frank Warren guy said I signed a contract with for Daniel Dubois, that I should honor the contract, that Frank Warren had nothing to do with the contract, it is between me and Daniel Dubois., Well I am here to tell you that is absolutely untrue. I signed a contract with Daniel Dubois’s promoter, who is Frank Warren. I had never spoken to Daniel Dubois before the fight, I had never seen Daniel Dubois live, before he came to America. Frank Warren’s company, Queensberry Promotions, brought to me a contract signed with a signature name Daniel Dubois and then told me to sign it, not Daniel Dubois. Also, Frank Warren’s company represented Dubois at the purse offer.
That’s the way it is in boxing, no promoter deals directly with another promoter’s fighter with the distinctively clear understanding that all business transactions concerning that fighter, inclusive of all payment to the fighter must be done through the fighter’s promoter. Why? Because in boxing the promoter of the fighter becomes the financier of the fighter. The promoter advances the fighter loans to train with, to take care of the fighter and his family when he’s not fighting. Additionally, he makes advances to his fighter for whatever his needs may be, and the only way that the promoter can get back the repayment of such advance loans is when the fighter fights, and his promoter must have a lockdown control of all monies due to be paid to his fighter, in order to get his money back, according to their agreement between the promoter and his fighter, inclusive of purse and sponsorship fees to be paid to his fighter, unless the fighter doesn’t have a promoter and he himself, personally, makes his own deal directly with a promoter.
Unfortunately, in the boxing business most fighters have a limited memory in their borrowing of advances and what they are willing to pay back. Which means that if you don’t have a lockdown control over all the monies to be paid to him, your fighter, you will be left holding an empty bag in regard to the promoter’s repayment of the monies he advanced to his fighter.
I taught my honorable friend Frank Warren to always be in control of his fighter’s income, which is not the case in this heavyweight championship fight, according to the pretender Frank Warren, “It’s all total bullshit”. I am honorably bound to deal with Frank Warren, his promoter, unless I am directed by Frank Warren to do otherwise. However, herein the honorable Frank Warren owes me an old outstanding debt. Which legitimately gives me the opportunity to deduct that outstanding debt of what Frank Warren owes to me, from what I owe to Frank Warren. So, the pretender Frank Warren wants to extricate the honorable Frank Warren from the equation by saying that I single handedly, unilaterally signed a direct contract with Daniel Dubois which Frank Warren had nothing to do with. So that being so, I must honor my signature that Frank Warren had me sign and separately pay Daniel Dubois directly with no deductions on the old outstanding debt that the honorable Frank Warren owes to me.
Without giving the honorable Frank Warren the opportunity to have a fruitful conversation with his great friend Don King. Who, no matter what the circumstances may be, would never throw his great friend Frank Warren under the bus. Now that’s a fact. However, that’s the dilemma, the pretender Frank Warren is suffering whether or not Don King who claims to be Frank Warren’s great friend, would throw the honorable Frank Warren under the bus or not. “That’s all-total bullshit!!!”, says the pretender.
Frank, please don’t let the pretender destroy your honor, credibility, and integrity. You have worked too hard to build up these golden principles, to let avarice and greed toss them asunder. Talk to me Frank, your wish is my command.
Don King
