Mike Tyson vs. Boxing Fans: Is Tyson Unpopular? I Don't Think So

When I go on the internet to check whats up in boxing I always see threads and articles on Mike Tyson. What do they usually say? Tyson's Finished, He never was great, He is a degrace to the sport and on and on. If you never watched boxing you would think Tyson was nothing but if he is such a nothing why is he talked about every day. You would think by reading some of posts on some sites that Tyson is a very upopular boxer, on one site a person said "when I hear the name Tyson I vomit". But if he so unpopular then why is he the top PPV draw of all time. Heres the list: Top Boxing Pay Per View Buy Rates # Fight Date Buys Network 1. Holyfield vs. Tyson II 6/28/97 1,990,000 SET 2. Holyfield vs. Tyson I 11/9/96 1,590,000 SET 3. Tyson vs. McNeeley 8/19/95 1,550,000 SET 4. Holyfield vs. Foreman 4/19/91 1,400,000 TVKO 5. Tyson vs. Bruno 3/16/96 1,370,000 SET 6. De La Hoya vs. Trinidad 9/18/99 1,250,000 TVKO 6. Tyson vs. Ruddock II 6/28/91 1,250,000 SET 8. Holyfield vs. Lewis I 3/13/99 1,200,000 TVKO 9. Holyfield vs. Douglas 10/25/90 1,060,000 SET 10. Tyson vs. Seldon 9/9/96 1,010,000 SET Top Nevada Boxing Gates Gross Sales Main Event Paid Date 16,860,300.00 LENNOX LEWIS vs EVANDER HOLYFIELD II 17,078 11/13/99 14,277,200.00 EVANDER HOLYFIELD vs MIKE TYSON II 16,279 06/28/97 14,150,700.00 EVANDER HOLYFIELD vs MIKE TYSON I 16,103 11/09/96 13,965,600.00 MIKE TYSON vs PETER MCNEELEY 16,113 08/19/95 12,949,500.00 FELIX TRINIDAD vs OSCAR DE LA HOYA 11,184 09/18/99 10,673,700.00 MIKE TYSON vs FRANK BRUNO II 16,143 03/16/96 7,579,100.00 OSCAR DE LA HOYA vs JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ 14,738 06/07/96 7,329,500.00 FELIX TRINIDAD vs DAVID REID 9,584 03/03/00 7,055,800.00 MIKE TYSON vs FRANCOIS BOTHA 10,221 01/16/99 6,546,441.00 EVANDER HOLYFIELD vs JAMES DOUGLAS 10,117 11/25/90 6,599,100.00 LENNOX LEWIS vs DAVID TUA 10,763 11/11/00 6,468,600.00 RAY LEONARD vs THOMAS HEARNS II 12,064 06/12/89 6,448,700.00 RAY LEONARD vs ROBERTO DURAN III 11,904 12/07/90 6,305,900.00 MIKE TYSON vs BRUCE SELDON 9,511 09/07/96 6,239,050.00 LARRY HOLMES vs GERRY COONEY 29,214 06/11/82 6,215,400.00 RAY LEONARD vs MARVIN HAGLER 12,379 04/06/87 6,200,276.50 MIKE TYSON vs DONOVAN RUDDOCK II 13,047 06/28/91 5,792,838.50 EVANDER HOLYFIELD vs RIDDICK BOWE II 10,923 11/06/93 5,766,125.00 LARRY HOLMES vs MUHAMMAD ALI 24,570 10/02/80 5,566,700.00 EVANDER HOLYFIELD vs MICHAEL MOORER II 9,395 11/08/97 5,454,918.50 MIKE TYSON vs DONOVAN RUDDOCK I 12,563 03/18/91 5,143,000.00 OSCAR DE LA HOYA vs PERNEL WHITAKER 11,764 04/12/97 5,070,100.00 OSCAR DE LA HOYA vs JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ II 13,384 09/18/98 5,007,900.00 MIKE TYSON vs ORLIN NORRIS 11,207 10/23/99 4,914,856.00 RIDDICK BOWE vs EVANDER HOLYFIELD I 13,689 11/13/92 4,865,150.00 RAY LEONARD vs THOMAS HEARNS I 23,306 09/16/81 4,589,400.00 MARVIN HAGLER vs THOMAS HEARNS 12,241 04/15/85 -stats from boxing insider .com Seems like a popular fighter to me just based on the numbers alone, so why does it seem like everyone hates Tyson to death now? Probably because they were fans at one time but after all the bad press,court appearences and losses gave up on Iron Mike. So Tyson in reality is probably the 2nd most popular fighter of all time behind Muhammad Ali.