Who is the most popular boxer in the history of boxing?

[Scott9945]

Some people are confusing fame and notoriety with being popular. Not the same.

[mickey malone]

Some people are confusing fame and notoriety with being popular. Not the same.

Saad Muhammad, Gatti, Palomino, Mancini, Corales, Foreman, Archie Moore are never dissed by anyone... All very popular fighters

[SBleeder]

Ali
Louis
Dempsey
Sugar Ray Leonard

[StarshipTrooper]

Boxing wasn't as prevalent in Louis's day as it was by the time Ali's day came along

Huh? Boxing was MUCH bigger in the '30s and '40s than it was in the '70s. WTF are you on?

[Ray Corso]

Boxing news has had world coverage since the days of John L. Sullivan the Heavyweight Champion of the World. He was very well known throughout the Americas and Europe.
The next boxer with world wide popularity was Jack Dempsey who was a recognized boxer all over the world with the exceptions of some third world countries and much of the African continent. However Dempsey was THE most popular athlete at that time. His popularity in his home counrty (USA) actually over shaddowed baseballs Babe Ruth who at the time was a phenom in sports!
Muhammed Ali is easily the most well known athlete of all time. Not just his name but his face was also recognized all over the world! No other athlete had captured peoples imaginations the way Ali captured it! His unbelieveable ability to box as a heavyweight the way the great boxers who weighed much less did captured the boxing world. His stance on war and human rights captured non sports enthusiasts who saw him as a champion in other ventures of life.
His charity for children and desire for peace to prevail over conflict furthered his cause for all men to be free!

I met Ali & Dempsey, Sullivan slipped by me!



..ps, Tyson is not in their status not even the greatest fighter ever Sugar Ray Robinson was as polarizing a character as those three men!

Ali, Jack & John really were credits to boxings popularity in their respected time frames.
Wonder if they'll ever be anyone to capture the worlds public eyes again?
Ray Corso

[mickey malone]

Boxing news has had world coverage since the days of John L. Sullivan the Heavyweight Champion of the World. He was very well known throughout the Americas and Europe.
The next boxer with world wide popularity was Jack Dempsey who was a recognized boxer all over the world with the exceptions of some third world countries and much of the African continent. However Dempsey was THE most popular athlete at that time. His popularity in his home counrty (USA) actually over shaddowed baseballs Babe Ruth who at the time was a phenom in sports!
Muhammed Ali is easily the most well known athlete of all time. Not just his name but his face was also recognized all over the world! No other athlete had captured peoples imaginations the way Ali captured it! His unbelieveable ability to box as a heavyweight the way the great boxers who weighed much less did captured the boxing world. His stance on war and human rights captured non sports enthusiasts who saw him as a champion in other ventures of life.
His charity for children and desire for peace to prevail over conflict furthered his cause for all men to be free!

I met Ali & Dempsey, Sullivan slipped by me!



..ps, Tyson is not in their status not even the greatest fighter ever Sugar Ray Robinson was as polarizing a character as those three men!

Ali, Jack & John really were credits to boxings popularity in their respected time frames.
Wonder if they'll ever be anyone to capture the worlds public eyes again?
Ray Corso

Do you go back as far as Tom Cribb, Ray?

Know it sounds sarcastic (not my intention) but the guy was seriously popular, especially in England, with statues, monuments, and even the Tom Cribb public house in Woolwich, still stands to this day... Cribb was unbeatable in his day

[Layzie Kidd]

Popularity, as in just that, within the scope of that world, would have to be Muhammad Ali.

Mention Jack Dempsey to people and they dont know him, mention Ali and everyone does. Plus every time someone who doesnt know how to box is mimicking a boxer or joking around they always do an Ali impression.

He even got a comic book with Superman, the most popular fictional character in the world. So that goes to say something.

Joe Louis might be runner up of all time since he had a couple recent documentarys in the 00s. Tyson is obviously the most popular recent modern fighter, but many people dont know him for his actual fights, rather just the controversy.

The heavys usually hold the all time title of most popular ever.

[Ray Corso]

Crib was a "bareknuckle era" fighter and I doubt known by a populous other than Europe and the States. I thought the topic was centered around the worlds knowledge of notoriety as opposed to a specific country or a few continents.
The percentage of people who knew of Dempsey wasn't that much fewer than Ali the differences were the number of people in the world from 1900 to 1970.
Just look at industry over that preiod of time. Its mind boggling! Boggling I tell you................HA!

[mickey malone]

Crib was a "bareknuckle era" fighter and I doubt known by a populous other than Europe and the States. I thought the topic was centered around the worlds knowledge of notoriety as opposed to a specific country or a few continents.
The percentage of people who knew of Dempsey wasn't that much fewer than Ali the differences were the number of people in the world from 1900 to 1970.
Just look at industry over that preiod of time. Its mind boggling! Boggling I tell you................HA!

Sure... Ali's the man... The main icon

Popularity??.... You can go by dog names...

Dempsey, Cassius, Tyson, Rocky.... Here boy

Sit Vitali, Sit!... Oh Bruno, you are a soppy old thing

But on a serious note, it was Dempsey's era (the industrial revolution) that shaped all of our views on everything really... Hard to imagine what it was like back then, but you give a good insight Ray

[M Bison]

Ali, SRL, Tyson, Mayweather and Pac.

Mayweather? Really...