heinnews’ David Hein this week ventures into the world of boxing to chat with famed promoter Don King following David Haye’s upset of Nikolai Valuev for the WBA heavyweight championship belt in Nuremberg, Germany. They discussed Germany’s reunification, David Haye becoming champion, a Valuev-Haye rematch, Valuev helping old ladies cross the street, the Klitchkos, the super middleweight Super Six tournament and donkingtv.com.

heinnews: Don King, welcome to Germany. What did you think of the fight between David Haye and Nikolai Valuev?
King: It was a wonderful opportunity for me to be here and do this. I also want to complement Germany on becoming one Germany. Not East Germany, NEIN! NEIN! Not West Germany, NEIN! NEIN! ONE Germany! JA! That’s what we want to do! I’m very happy. We saw a brilliant performance and you have to applaud it. And I think David Haye and his strategy to win proved out to be wonderful. David Haye was brilliant in this fight. It was a defensive fight but it was a planned strategy that worked out quite well. Under the circumstances, it’s great. He’s a great champion.And all I have is Kudos for David Haye. And congratulations, the Brits did it again. So we should go out and enjoy the sport of boxing. God save the Queen!

heinnews: You are in the Valuev camp, can he have a re-match with Haye?
King: I wasn’t involved in the contract. But they have a re-match clause in there for Valuev. It’s an option between the Hayemaker and himself, working with Sauerland. I think Nikolai Valuev will return. He’s going to be rising from the ashes of the phoenix. You will see more of the big giant. He has to get a little bit more of a killer instinct. He has to deal with what is real and practical. He’s such a gentleman. He’s such a wonderful guy. He helps old ladies across the street. He stops guys from snatching their pocketbooks. He loves his wife. What more can you ask? He has to become a killer in the ring. And then outside the ring be that wonderful gentleman that he is. He’s a giant-sized man. And I’m just delighted that I have the opportunity to work with him. And I look forward to seeing David Haye. Because Carl Lewis doesn’t have anything on David Haye. It’s great that he can use his speed and his brilliance and his athleticism. I think it was wonderful. It was a great show here in Germany. And we’re very happy to be a part of unified Germany.

heinnews: Do you think David Haye can become a bigger entity in the U.S.?
King: He has an opportunity to do so. He has a little bit of work still. He will be fighting guys his size. And the strategy he employed today would have to change dramatically. However you can’t take away from the man, who was looking for his five stones and his sling shot. He was looking for them. That’s why he was running. We didn’t know. He was looking for his stones and sling shot. Instead of the stick and move, he ran and stuck.

heinnews: What do you think about boxing fans who want to see Haye face off against one of the Klitchko brothers?
King: The Klitchko brothers are very good. It would be very good if he can survive John Ruiz and go through the options that he has, the Klitchkos should be one of them because they are brilliant brothers and it’s just so good to see two brothers both be heavyweight champions of the world. And I applaud them for doing that. I think they are just sensational guys.

heinnews: What impact do you think David Haye will have on boxing?
King: I think it’s great. Some times you get a chance to see that the little guy can win. Victor Hugo said years ago that the greatness of a nation can no more be determined by its number than by the greatness of a man can be determined by his size. Little men are giants too. Today, David Haye is a giant. So it’s always going to be an impact, to give those who are doubters, those who are nay-sayers, and those who feel that it can never be done. It gives hopes and aspiration and inspiration to those to say Yes I can when everyone says No you can’t. So it’s very, very good when you can see this type of thing implemented. I think David Haye was wonderful, brilliant.

heinnews: Looking at David Haye, the Klitchko brothers and the Super Six, what do you think about the state of boxing?
King: The Super Six is great in order to get a super middleweight champion. However, it’s good for boxing to do anything that will bring fans into the seats and give them an opportunity to be entertained mano y mano, man to man. It’s a combat sport. That’s what we’re talking about here. You can’t call time-out and send in a substitute. And if you run out of petrol, there’s no gas station in sight. You must be able to deal with what’s really practical. And that’s what makes this the greatest sport in the world. Boxing is life and life is boxing.

heinnews: Last question because I know you want to have some fun, what is coming up for Don King over the next couple of weeks and months?
King: Right now I will be going back to America. We have a fight with Daniel Santos, he’s going to be fighting Yuri Foreman in the undercard of Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao. So it’s going to be another big weekend of fights. And it’s gonna be great. And then we are going to be planning on what we will be doing futuristically. Because now I have launched my own network. It’s not TV. It’s donkingtv.com. And I think that people globally around the world should be able to bear witness to this sport, to get up close and personal, to learn about the family. Remember that song, “Getting to know you, getting to know all about you”. That’s what we want to do. To get people to know each other, understand one another, and go out and live the life and love the life you live.

heinnews: Mr. Don King, as always, you are amazing.
King: Thanks young man.

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