Iconic Promoter Honored at Fight Press Conference
Warren, Ohio Mayor Doug Franklin knew that he was going to honor iconic boxing promoter Don King for bringing ‘Return to Greatness,’ a six-championship blockbuster, to his city on January 29 at WD Packard Music Hall, but he did not know how.
What King or nobody else knew was that Franklin, the 35th Mayor of Warren, now in his 11th year, would present King with a proclamation declaring January 26, 2022 as Don King Day at the Grand Resort ballroom during the final press conference.
“It was actually something that I demanded that Don King Day be placed in the proclamation because I know a lot more about Don King other than his promoting career,” said Mayor Franklin. “His benevolence to the community what he’s done for Ohio so that has always inspired me. So, I made sure that when we were extracting things from his biography, everything jumped out and I said I got make this his day.”
Don King Day is a ceremonial token of Warren’s appreciation for what he has done for the city in the past and what he’s doing for the city today.
Mayor Franklin admitted that he does not make such proclamations often, but because it was such short notice, and he did not have the time to present King with the Key to the City.
“That would have been what I would love to do, and I might still be able to get that done before he leaves town.”
The mayor is old enough to remember when Don King Training Camp in nearby Orwell was built.
“All of those fighters, world renown fighters were coming to Warren to go to restaurants and some of our clubs. Michael Spinks, Michael Dokes and Roberto Duran, I saw them all out there training. So, (declaring Don King Day) was the right thing to do. It was sort of God inspired.
Warren benefited economically from King promoted fighters patronizing businesses in the community.