Don King’s Post-Fight Comments Heard at Trial

An audiotape of boxing promoter Don King’s comments after Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson to win the heavyweight championship was played during the trial of King’s breach-of-contract suit against Douglas Monday in New York.

“All I’m looking for is justice and fair play--for one side or another,” King said on Feb. 11 in Tokyo. “There’s a grave injustice here. It’s an injustice if it holds that Mike Tyson was knocked out.”

King is scheduled to testify today.

King is suing Douglas and his manager, John Johnson, for allegedly breaching King’s promotional contract by signing a contract with the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas for a bout against Evander Holyfield.

Jose Sulaiman, president of the World Boxing Council, who was called as a witness for King, testified that King did not ask him to stop the fight after Douglas was knocked down in the eighth round. Douglas was apparently down for 13 seconds because the referee failed to pick up the count of the timekeeper and instead started his own count.