At 91, Don King still longs for the spotlight. But it is shining elsewhere

For the first time since the 1970s Don King does not have any promotional rights to a world champion. Photograph: Frank Franklin II/AP

Larry Merchant, the venerable sportswriter and TV commentator recently observed, at the age of 92, that “it’s easy getting into your 80s but hard to get out of them.”

That wisdom applies to two men who dominated boxing for a half-century and shaped the business as we know it today. Don King will turn 92 on 20 August. Bob Arum will be 92 on 8 December.