Holmes and c00ney were each guaranteed $10 million dollars. The fight would take place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, and be televised live on closed-circuit and pay-per-view television all over the world. A week after the bout, it would be re-broadcast on HBO, and later still, on ABC-TV. The fight was originally scheduled for March 15, 1982, but the bout was postponed after c00ney tore muscle fibers in his left shoulder. It was rescheduled for June 11.
Promoter Don King began one of the most massive promotional campaigns in boxing history to raise public interest for the fight. Holmes and c00ney attended press conferences in several U.S. cities, boxed exhibitions, and sat for numerous interviews. Also, since there had not been a white World Heavyweight Champion in twenty-two years, King put a lot of emphasis on race. “This is a white and black fight,” King said. “Anyway you look at it, you cannot change that. Gerry c00ney: Irish, white, Catholic.” c00ney’s managers, Mike Jones and Dennis Rappaport (known in the media as the Whacko Twins) fanned the flames, too. “I do not respect Larry Holmes as a human being,” Rappaport said. “I don’t think he’s carried the championship with dignity.” They pushed c00ney, with little subtlety, as white America’s champion. “He’s not the white man, he’s the right man,” Rappaport liked to say.
Holmes began receiving death threats in the run-up to the fight and his property was vandalized. Also, the Ku Klux Klan staged rallies in support of c00ney. On the night of the fight, snipers were put on rooftops overlooking the outdoor ring.
A record Las Vegas crowd of 29,284 attended the fight at the 32,000-seat outdoor arena at Caesars Palace and created a record live gate of $7,293,600