Is Floyd Mayweather the biggest name in boxing history?

if you ask somebody who has never watched a fight in their life who tyson is they'll know ... ask them who ali is they'll know ask them who floyd is and you'll get a blank look This is a good shout. How do u define 'biggest'? If you wanna talk about PPV buys and money then Mayweather comes out on top. Ali and Tyson, even Pac have transcended the sport in ways Mayweather never did. They are bigger names and have a wider reaching appeal. in England Chelsea FC were bought by a Russian billionaire and are a 'bigger' or richer club in recent years. However, more ppl know about Liverpool FC worldwide. Similar comparison.

Difficult to compare as the era's are different. Imagine Tyson with todays social media. In the 90's Tyson was doing around 1-1.5 million PPV buys. In 2002 Tyson Lewis did 1.9 million. Those numbers are massive, even by todays standards. Can u imagine these numbers in recent years with social media? In terms of earnings, take into account inflation. Tyson was doing 30 mil per fight in the early 90s and again by todays standards thats still huge. Like anything and everything - things always get bigger and better. Athletes get stronger and faster. No doubt Mayweathers the biggest thus far. But u cant compare him with fighters from previous eras.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl4AcphAvOM

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there will be justice on may 2nd guaranteed. fraud mayweather has fooled the sport for FAR too long. it's all coming to an end. I highly doubt it. It's a nice narrative but we'll see.

TS is completely delusional. ali is a legend and cultural icon who transcended the sport of boxing. even the most casual of casuals know who ali is. ali was one of the most charismatic figures ever in boxing while floyd is an uninteresting social dimwit. may 2nd can't come soon enough. pac will silence floyd. JUTSICE WILL BE SERVED! and the world will jump up in joy! There is no such thing as justice in boxing. If indeed sport. It's a cute notion though.

so you can make the most money, sell the most ppv's and not be the biggest name in boxing? that's the dumbest thing I ever heard. Of course you can. When you take into account inflation and the fact that PPV and the revenue that it generates is a relatively new thing you could even make a case that had those revenue streams been available to earlier fighters and their promoters they could have topped the numbers that Floyd has done. But that really isn't the point. Mayweather could well be the biggest name in boxing at this moment in time but the sport is nowhere near as relevant and nor does it have the following that it has in previous eras. That's partly why relatively few people know who he is compared with a figure like Ali. Plus equating PPV sales with following gives a skewed perspective because the Asian market where the majority of the worlds population that are aware of Manny Pacquioa reside hasn't been opened up. Who's to say what numbers he'd do if PPV had been embedded there decades ago? Forbes magazine had Radamel Falcao as by far the Premier League's highest paid footballer. Under a logic that only uses earnings as a barometer of how big a sportsman is he would be English football's biggest player. The biggest name in the Premier League and the biggest player at Manchester United. . . That clearly isn't the case. How much somebody earns at a particular point in time (when sports stars earnings have gone through the roof) by tapping into the PPV market of specific geographical locations can't be used as a sole barometer of their global appeal or how their name will echo historically. I'm a Floyd fan, (albeit one that has tired of his antics) and what he does in the ring in terms of hitting and not being hit is about as good as it gets, but let's not delude ourselves into believing that he has much significance beyond what goes on in the ring and number crunching.

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On google trends WORLDWIDE they are neck and neck in total. Mayweathers win over Canelo got more traffic than Pacquiao getting KTFO. The past couple of years Mayweather has dominated Pacquiao in searches. Canelo vs Floyd was not seen by more people than Pacquiao vs Marquez get real.

if you ask somebody who has never watched a fight in their life who tyson is they'll know ... ask them who ali is they'll know ask them who floyd is and you'll get a blank look

Good call! In order to be the biggest name in boxing a number of factors need to converge, the majority of which are beyond the control of the boxer. There needs to be a sociopolitical climate that is ripe for a boxer with the correct personality and attributes to be hoisted forward as a representational figure that is imbued with a wider meaning and who then transcends the sport. Ali was so huge as a figure because he emerged during the Civil Rights Movement, when there was a rise in Black consciousness particulary towards ideas of Pan-Africanism that had swelled since the time Marcus Garvey. The country was embroiled in a war that was viewed in many quarters as being Imperialist, and in American ghettos those with a hyphenated American status were forming their own social and political groups one of which Ali joined. Not only did he have the right personality and attributes to become a representational figure, he fully embraced that role in a way that perhaps no sportsman has before or since. Joe Louis was thrust forward as a polital adjunct for democracy at a time when the world was on the brink of war. He was the right man at the right time. We see it over and over again to lesser and greater degrees. Benny Leonard, Lionel Rose, Barry McGuigan, all in their respective time and places transended the sport in some way. Though his popularity has waned for multiple reasons in Britain Amir Khan is a bigger name than Floyd Mayweather precisely because at a time when New Labour where in power Amir emerged on the Olympic scene like a God send as the perfect poster boy for the centre left's multicultural agenda. Even my Grandmother knows who is. You could make a case that there isn't the political or social climate for Floyd to be a representational figure who transends the sport in a manner that people find meaningful. But here's the thing, even if there was Floyd isn't the man to fill the role. After all, "what has Africa ever done for Floyd Mayweather? What has Africa ever given Floyd Mayweather's children?" He doesn't have the attributes or personalty to be held up as representing anything more than the self centred individual drive to amass money. Most people don't care about that and in many that do it would just engender envy. He isn't the man for the job and nor does he care to be. The pantomime (and increasingly real life) villain persona that he's projected has helped him stock pile a fortune but it was never going to enlarge his name in any meaningful way that people can identity with or take inspiration from. He's one hell of a fighter. He's one hell of a matchmaker. And he's one hell of a hustler. But he's not even close to being the biggest name in the sport. so you can make the most money, sell the most ppv's and not be the biggest name in boxing? that's the dumbest thing I ever heard.

Ali and Tyson are easily the biggest names in Boxing history. Everyone knows who they are..even non boxing fans. The likes of Mayweather aren't that well known worldwide by people who don't follow the sport. There is a great chance there will never by another boxer to come along who will be a big a name as Ali or Tyson. and there will never be another fighter too make 120 million guarantee in one night.

Nope. Not even close. Just about every single casual fan that I know barely know who Floyd is. More than half of them have never even heard of him.. but they are casuals who only watch whatever is on at the occasional fight night gathering (MMA/Boxing), don't really look into or read about Boxing, and are unlikely to remember someone who isn't even exciting to watch.. ..but somehow they ALL know Ali, Tyson, and even Pacquiao (most of them).. ask 100 random people on the street and I would bet less than 1/4 would know who Floyd is. nobody knows who Floyd is yet he has sold more ppv's than any fighter in the history of the sport. how does an unknown accomplish this feat? the hate on this site is ridiculous.

Ali and Tyson are easily the biggest names in Boxing history. Everyone knows who they are..even non boxing fans. The likes of Mayweather aren't that well known worldwide by people who don't follow the sport. There is a great chance there will never by another boxer to come along who will be a big a name as Ali or Tyson.

:lol1: Good call! In order to be the biggest name in boxing a number of factors need to converge, the majority of which are beyond the control of the boxer. There needs to be a sociopolitical climate that is ripe for a boxer with the correct personality and attributes to be hoisted forward as a representational figure that is imbued with a wider meaning and who then transcends the sport. Ali was so huge as a figure because he emerged during the Civil Rights Movement, when there was a rise in Black consciousness particulary towards ideas of Pan-Africanism that had swelled since the time Marcus Garvey. The country was embroiled in a war that was viewed in many quarters as being Imperialist, and in American ghettos those with a hyphenated American status were forming their own social and political groups one of which Ali joined. Not only did he have the right personality and attributes to become a representational figure, he fully embraced that role in a way that perhaps no sportsman has before or since. Joe Louis was thrust forward as a polital adjunct for democracy at a time when the world was on the brink of war. He was the right man at the right time. We see it over and over again to lesser and greater degrees. Benny Leonard, Lionel Rose, Barry McGuigan, all in their respective time and places transended the sport in some way. Though his popularity has waned for multiple reasons in Britain Amir Khan is a bigger name than Floyd Mayweather precisely because at a time when New Labour where in power Amir emerged on the Olympic scene like a God send as the perfect poster boy for the centre left's multicultural agenda. Even my Grandmother knows who is. You could make a case that there isn't the political or social climate for Floyd to be a representational figure who transends the sport in a manner that people find meaningful. But here's the thing, even if there was Floyd isn't the man to fill the role. After all, "what has Africa ever done for Floyd Mayweather? What has Africa ever given Floyd Mayweather's children?" He doesn't have the attributes or personalty to be held up as representing anything more than the self centred individual drive to amass money. Most people don't care about that and in many that do it would just engender envy. He isn't the man for the job and nor does he care to be. The pantomime (and increasingly real life) villain persona that he's projected has helped him stock pile a fortune but it was never going to enlarge his name in any meaningful way that people can identity with or take inspiration from. He's one hell of a fighter. He's one hell of a matchmaker. And he's one hell of a hustler. But he's not even close to being the biggest name in the sport.

:lol1:

Nobody in history(Tyson, De La Hoya, Ali etc) have done his numbers in their careers. If you look at the list of achievements! 9 of the 20 biggest gates in history have been Mayweather fights, this not including the upcoming Pacquaio fight. After the Pacquaio fight the top 5 greatest live gates in history have all been Floyd Mayweather fights. He's also the highest grossing PPV star of all time, with a much higher total revenue than de la hoya and tyson... In less fights!! Mayweather is Box Office Gold I had no idea he was this big until researching his stats. He is a bigger grosser than Tyson & De La Hoya in LESS FIGHTS:boxing::boxing::boxing: Come on man your telling me if Ali fought Frazier in 2015 it wouldn't beat floyds record? Or if Holyfield fought Tyson in 2015 it wouldn't beat floyds record? Your talking about ppv which Ali never had in his day no way floyds the biggest name in boxing history but he is the biggest money maker to this date. And his record will be broken in future just like he broke all the past records.

Everyone knows Muhammad Ali even if you don't know what he looks like you've heard of him and know he's a boxer. As for floyd I don't think he's as popular as Ali was or ever will be