Biggest fight of all time?

Bob Arum saying it is NOT the biggest fight ever.

Ali vs Frazier 1

This is absolutely a very big fight. Id say the biggest is Ali-Frazier I. Global attention. Undefeated HW champs. The first "fight of the century" was huge as well: Johnson vs Jeffries. Then we have Louis-Schmeling II, Ali-Foreman, Ali-Spinks II, Leonard-Hagler, DLH-Tito, Dempsey-Carpentier and Dempsey-Tunney II. Surely Holmes-Cooney could also be somewhere in that equation.

This is what people need to understand here. It's not about the money. The biggest fights in boxing history stopped entire countries. They involved more than the fight itself, they were symbols for political and social issues. They were the biggest events in sports. Mayweather/Pacquiao isn't on that level. It's more on the Leonard/Hagler level or Duran/Leonard. Huge fight, but certainly no Ali/Frazier or Louis/Schmeling. Just to make it clear, I don't think money makes a damn difference. I've just seen people refer to it as a bigger fight because it will break the PPV record.

I voted Pac - May I think it's the biggest fight in history. We've waited for so many years to get it. P4P #1 against P4P #2. I doubt any other fight has been this anticipated. Braddock - Baer was also a big fight. I don't think anyone can make a sound argument that Braddock and Baer was on the same level as Mayweather vs Pacquiao at all. Also, I'm pretty confident in saying Ali and Frazier were the two biggest boxing stars in the world in '71 also. Plus with the dislike between them, political climate. Black vs white (most white people sided with Frazier). etc. I think that makes it bigger than Mayweather vs Pacquiao.

Ali/Frazier I had some major national implications tied in with the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights debate. Probably the most important fight in USA history. Joe Louis-Max Schmelling II is also up there, another one of those fights that transcended the sport. Those two. I put Pacquiao-Mayweather on the level of Hagler-Leonard, a fight of major significance in a boxing and pop culture context. Good point. Fights like Louis/Schmeling II or Ali/Frazier I had political undertones. Fights of that nature would always be bigger than just pure boxing.

It is one of the biggest non-heavyweight fights of all time.

Financially this will be the biggest of all time but I do not think it is even in the top 10 when it comes to importance to the sport or the quality of the fight we will end up seeing. Will it be a good fight? Hopefully it will be a great fight, but it will never match the overall drama or quality of Ali - Frazier or Leonard - Duran 1 (which I was lucky enough to have been in attendance to witness) or the importance of Joe Louis - Max Schmeling.

This is absolutely a very big fight. Id say the biggest is Ali-Frazier I. Global attention. Undefeated HW champs. The first "fight of the century" was huge as well: Johnson vs Jeffries. Then we have Louis-Schmeling II, Ali-Foreman, Ali-Spinks II, Leonard-Hagler, DLH-Tito, Dempsey-Carpentier and Dempsey-Tunney II.

Jack Dempsey was on the front page of the Time Magazine. He was bigger than Babe Ruth at the time. Joe Louis-Max Schemling holds more importance than any other fight in history. The USA were on the verge of going to war with Germany. Google the fight, for those than dont know the social significance of it. All of Ali's fights were big, but that was more to do with him than the actual fights themselves. He was the biggest sportsman in the world during his hey day and how many boxers can say that about themselves? Sometimes fights are labelled, in terms of importance, after the fight has taken place. And if Pacquiao KO's Floyd, the significane and importance of this fight would increase ten fold.

You keep bringing up money. No matter how expensive or rich this fight makes people, it isn't a bigger fight. It doesn't have the same time stopping effect on the world that the biggest fights in history did. That it has no such social or political undertones is exactly why it is not the biggest fight ever. And it is absolutely possible for a fight to have the kind of social and political impact as past fights. Imagine if Povetkin and Wlad had fought this year, after years of cleaning out the division. Imagine Povetkin was a more genuine threat to beat Wlad. With all the tension between Russia and the Ukraine, and Wlad's popularity throughout Eastern Europe and Germany, that fight would be massive in such a scenario, and a huge part of that would be because of the political tension between Russia and the Ukraine. Both guys would be getting paid massive amounts of money and would be representing entire countries. Its not stopping time because of the day and age we are in. Nothing stops anything anymore accept SEVERE acts of terrorism, and even then they stop things in the general area they take place. It has no political/social undertones because the things people were fighting for in the 60's/70's in the US and the Nazi attempted free world takeover do not happen anymore. Bo that's an example but outside of that region the fight has no real meaning. A lot of people wouldn't care. Floyd and Manny seems to be an event the world wants to see. Much of the allure and discussion centers around the staggering amount of money the fight will generate. There is more global interest as the world is much "smaller" given the internet and social media. No, the fight doesn't have social/political implications of those fights, but the world, at least from my perspective, seems more about the global economy than global politics. My point is the world has changed significantly since the times you mentioned so to its hard to use the same measures for "big" in this day and age.

You sure? why would I be doing that? This fight is the most expensive sports event in the world. The worst seat in the house is $1500 such that very few real fans can attend. There is no political or social undertones to this fight at all. The social things of the 60's/70's and the political rise of the Nazi's will never happen in modern society to the degree they did then, so it's virtually impossible to have any sporting event, let alone boxing, have the same social/political impact. You keep bringing up money. No matter how expensive or rich this fight makes people, it isn't a bigger fight. It doesn't have the same time stopping effect on the world that the biggest fights in history did. That it has no such social or political undertones is exactly why it is not the biggest fight ever. And it is absolutely possible for a fight to have the kind of social and political impact as past fights. Imagine if Povetkin and Wlad had fought this year, after years of cleaning out the division. Imagine Povetkin was a more genuine threat to beat Wlad. With all the tension between Russia and the Ukraine, and Wlad's popularity throughout Eastern Europe and Germany, that fight would be massive in such a scenario, and a huge part of that would be because of the political tension between Russia and the Ukraine. Both guys would be getting paid massive amounts of money and would be representing entire countries.

I voted Pac - May I think it's the biggest fight in history. We've waited for so many years to get it. P4P #1 against P4P #2. I doubt any other fight has been this anticipated. Braddock - Baer was also a big fight. Well in the movie "Cinderella Man" it was. But in the real boxing world it wouldn't make the top 100.

Not every fight needs social undertones to make it great, SRL v Hearns/Duran/Hagler don't compare to Louis/Schmeling or Johnson/Jeffries for example. But on the flip side Pac/May is better than those two just based in sporting terms. Ali/Frazier 1 is the all time beast. Two atg somewhat close to their primes, undefeated, at HW with the world watching. Pac/May is a top 10 all time fight and the richest ever. Nothing to sneeze at.

Louis-Schmeling 2 is the biggest fight in the history of the sport. Once again(I've said this a few times) when the President of the United States personally asks you to win a fight for your country....It's BIG....REAL ****ING BIG.

You're just trying to convince yourself. That's pretty ridiculous. Athletes in the biggest sports deal with social issues on a daily basis, and they became the biggest stories on ESPN. It doesn't matter in boxing because boxing isn't big anymore. You sure? why would I be doing that? This fight is the most expensive sports event in the world. The worst seat in the house is $1500 such that very few real fans can attend. There is no political or social undertones to this fight at all. The social things of the 60's/70's and the political rise of the Nazi's will never happen in modern society to the degree they did then, so it's virtually impossible to have any sporting event, let alone boxing, have the same social/political impact.

Those fights back in the day didn't have all this internet thing going. Look at the Pac/Floyd matchup, it doesn't need no promoting thanks to how desireable is the fight and the internet

On one hand i know boxing isnt close to as big as it once was back in the day so fights like Ali/Frazier and Dempsey are going to be considered huge. But these days, sports in general are much bigger than they were back then so for this match, in what has become a niche sport, to capture the imagination of the world i would consider this the biggest. I know its the biggest event i will have ever attended. Excitement building :boxing::boxing:

Respectfully, the fights you mentioned were big because of the time period. Social/Political significance outweighed money to a degree. This fight will be as big as it perfectly represents the time we are in-money/wealth is far more significant than social/political issues. You're just trying to convince yourself. That's pretty ridiculous. Athletes in the biggest sports deal with social issues on a daily basis, and they became the biggest stories on ESPN. It doesn't matter in boxing because boxing isn't big anymore.

This is what people need to understand here. It's not about the money. The biggest fights in boxing history stopped entire countries. They involved more than the fight itself, they were symbols for political and social issues. They were the biggest events in sports. Mayweather/Pacquiao isn't on that level. It's more on the Leonard/Hagler level or Duran/Leonard. Huge fight, but certainly no Ali/Frazier or Louis/Schmeling. Respectfully, the fights you mentioned were big because of the time period. Social/Political significance outweighed money to a degree. This fight will be as big as it perfectly represents the time we are in-money/wealth is far more significant than social/political issues.