Federal prosecutors on Monday opened their insurance
fraud case against boxing promoter Don King by "telling a
racially mixed jury that King didn't fight fair in his rise
to the top of the boxing world," according to Greg Smith of
the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. This will be the second attempt by the
government to try King "on charges that he stole $350,000
from Lloyd's of London" in '91. The first trial ended in a
hung jury in '95. The second trial is expected to last two
months, and if convicted, King faces five years in prison
and $250,000 in fines (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/14).
FOCUS ON ARUM: In FORBES, Peter Spiegel writes that
with King "badly wounded," Bob Arum "looks poised to succeed
him at the peak of the pugilism industry." Even if King is
"cleared, he has little chance of topping Arum," who has a
"near lock on the growing loyal Hispanic market," with the
"hottest young boxer in the world," Oscar De La Hoya, "on
Arum's roster" (FORBES, 4/20 issue). In Boston, Ron Borges
wrote that Arum "claims to have persuaded" execs at Circus
Circus in Las Vegas to increase a planned 8,000-seat arena
they are building on Mandalay Bay to 12,000-seats. He said
that Mandalay Bay Resort could land a "big show" to open its
new hotel next March or April (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/12).
