context is key

[Scipio2009]

Excluding soccer players, who is the most well-known athlete in all of Europe?

The US fan has NFL, NCAAF, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS to look for stars. Add in NASCAR, college basketball, other collegiate sports, tennis, etc (not counting boxing or MMA), and you've got more competition for eyeballs here than anywhere else.

Wilder is on his way to that acclaim

[.!WAR MIKEY!.]

Carl froch is the biggiest name in THE UK!

[BM dnobagaV]

Scipio, continuing ad-naseum with his special threads.

Thank you for dragging down the quality of the board again mate. A toddler could've **** on the keyboard and produced a more legitimate thread.

[Tom Cruise]

UK has top level stars in Cricket, Rugby Union, Rugby League, Tennis, Athletics, F1, Cycling, Rowing, Swimming, Gymnastics etc etc etc even without talking about the dominant no.1 sport in the country which is football (soccer).

Still boggles my mind that Americans dont get that every country has a competitive sports marketplace. They seem to think that boxing is no.1 everywhere except the US, despite the fact that the US is probably still the biggest boxing market on the planet.

[Redd Foxx]

Still boggles my mind that Americans dont get that every country has a competitive sports marketplace. They seem to think that boxing is no.1 everywhere except the US, despite the fact that the US is probably still the biggest boxing market on the planet.

?? Maybe you're getting played by trolls but I don't know a single American who thinks boxing is even close to being the #1 sport in any country. Most Americans I've talked boxing with seem to think it's stronger in the US than in other places and are surprised to find out how big it is in some other places, that several current world champs are European, etc.

[daggum]

if you exclude all other sports and entertainment wilder would be one of the most popular people in the country

[Tom Cruise]

?? Maybe you're getting played by trolls but I don't know a single American who thinks boxing is even close to being the #1 sport in any country. Most Americans I've talked boxing with seem to think it's stronger in the US than in other places and are surprised to find out how big it is in some other places, that several current world champs are European, etc.

It seems to be a common theme on here that when people are talking about why american boxers arent stars and why other countries are having success we get a stream of comments like the one in OP.

Boxing is still massive in the US compared to, say, the UK. Canelo does more buys at $70 than AJ has been (not including Wlad fight which hasnt released any numbers yet) at like $30.

[Redd Foxx]

It seems to be a common theme on here that when people are talking about why american boxers arent stars and why other countries are having success we get a stream of comments like the one in OP.

Boxing is still massive in the US compared to, say, the UK. Canelo does more buys at $70 than AJ has been (not including Wlad fight which hasnt released any numbers yet) at like $30.

I see what you're saying. I think the ones you're referring to may just be confused because of how well-known British boxers are in their country. A guy like Canelo is just starting to get known, but most still have no clue who he is. Most Americans couldn't pick Mayweather out of a line-up, etc.

[Scipio2009]

UK has top level stars in Cricket, Rugby Union, Rugby League, Tennis, Athletics, F1, Cycling, Rowing, Swimming, Gymnastics etc etc etc even without talking about the dominant no.1 sport in the country which is football (soccer).

Still boggles my mind that Americans dont get that every country has a competitive sports marketplace. They seem to think that boxing is no.1 everywhere except the US, despite the fact that the US is probably still the biggest boxing market on the planet.

No one is denying that there are stars in other sports; my question was that, beyond soccer, what superstars in Europe have been able to break through on the continent?

Deontay Wilder, for attention, is competing against globally known superstars in the NFL, NBA, and MLB, in addition to nationally known stars in NHL/NASCAR/etc, and regionally-known stars in other sports.

As an outsider looking in, the sporting fan in the UK doesn't seem to have the wealth of stars to look toward, leading the general public to rally behind a star as they're able to break through.

I dabble in following rugby but, if someone were to ask, who is the biggest rugby star in Europe?

[krazyn8tive]

Casuals, like rickdarula, don't even know who wilder is