If Ali was at his prime today, he would be bigger than Tiger, Kobe, or Lebron

[Russian Crushin]

I'm sorry,but you Americans need to understand that what is popular in America does not automatically make it popular on a worldwide basis.


Nobody outside of North America knows of these basketball players.The most famous basketball player of all time is Michael Jordan,and he's primarily known for starring alongside bugs bunny in Space Jam.


Tiger Woods is just a star of a useless sport that doesn't deserve the amount of television coverage that it does get.

Well basketball is pretty worldwide these days and Kobe is very well known....plus how can u say Golf is a useless sport? just because it is the hardest sport on the planet and you are more likely to be a legend boxer then a great golf player? Theres a reason Woods is the most paid athlete on earth by far

[Pirao]

Well basketball is pretty worldwide these days and Kobe is very well known....plus how can u say Golf is a useless sport? just because it is the hardest sport on the planet and you are more likely to be a legend boxer then a great golf player? Theres a reason Woods is the most paid athlete on earth by far

Yes, he's american and gets huge sponshorships of american companies. However being the best paid doesn't mean anything, or else David Beckham would be the best football player of all time

[Russian Crushin]

Yes, he's american and gets huge sponshorships of american companies. However being the best paid doesn't mean anything, or else David Beckham would be the best football player of all time

Yea but getting Athlete of the Decade by a wide margin would probably be a good reason for why he gets paid that much. David Beckham comes nowhere near Woods salary.....golf is a global sport btw not just american

[Danny Gunz]

With his talent and charisma, he would still be the most popular and most marketable athlete in the world.

not really, what made ali so popular was that he refused to go to vietnam... without vietnam ali is just a great heavyweight boxer not a pop culture icon

[Snopkins]

Too many newbs in this thread unofrtunately.Ali didn't suddenly become a notable figure because of the Vietnam war.Ali at age 21 was associated with many top celebrities of that time.He made appearances on the top talk shows and had released his own album before he even won a world title.



Sugar Ray Leonard was more popular,well known at his peak than any American athlete today.



The likes of Ali,Tyson and Ray Leonard were always going to grab the attention of the mainstream.

Not a fan of Joe?

I'm a huge fan of joe frazier.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/mugshots/joefraziermug1.html

Europeans are on Americas nuts and like what America likes. Why do so many of you spend billions on Hollywood films? Also boxing is a global sport, it isn't the NFL son.

We're talking sports here.baseball,basketball,gridiron......none of that ****e matters over here.

[Pirao]

Yea but getting Athlete of the Decade by a wide margin would probably be a good reason for why he gets paid that much. David Beckham comes nowhere near Woods salary.....golf is a global sport btw not just american

Yes, Tiger Woods is great golfer no doubt. However money is not the way to measure an athlete, or as I said Beckham would be the greatest football player of all time, when he's not even top 100.

[SplitSecond]

consideirng times have changed, it'd be a different environment, there'd be no malcom, no him wanting to convert, no vietnam, not as much racism

yea, dont know about that

[Come∂ian]

Even after 9/11?

I was just thinking that, being ****** dont fly anymore

[DIB42]

Messi and Ronaldo say hello.

America is not the world BTW.

Since when?



But other than that... I think Ali would be on Kobe Lebron level, or at least the level a Prime Michael Vick was, but I still thinks if he were a prime fighter today, Tiger still beats him in popularity and marketing.

[zeidrich]

If Ali is in this era.... boxing is a mainstream sport today... the guy is exciting , got personality and fights everyone

to be honest, the only reason boxing is not mainstream is not because of the media... its the people that makes a sport mainstream, that means that our top boxers controls on how the sport will flourish ... how did the other sports become mainstream anyway? the answer is people are interested to the person....

Both floyd and Pac, even DLH are good but they all failed to get boxing back to mainstream.... because theyre lacking something to be the "one"

floyd = boring, cherry pick like crazy but his personality is above average
pac = boring personality that dont know english...
DLH = dont know how to win big fights

honestly if only we have a trashtalker like floyd, with the fighting style like pac.... boxing would be mainstream today.