Boxing fans since the 80's, how popular was Mike Tyson at his peak?

He was red hot and already compared to Ali as the greatest ever. Even people who knew nothing about boxing, or even sports, knew who Tyson was. Since him there's probably only been Beckham and Woods and perhaps Jordan in sports with that kind of universal fame.

 

If popular means well known, then he was through the roof popular. If it means well liked, then he was a little bit popular.

 

beckham lol
an example of whats gone wrong in sport - guys passing off film star looks in place of top talent. becks - very good winger, a lot weaker in other positions ....and cretynous captain.

 

About 30 years past his prime and still the most recognisable face on the planet.

 

Entertainment was more limited back then and boxing in the 'Western' world was a lot bigger. The Heavyweight champion was considered one of, if not the most important sportsman on the planet. And when a young exciting power puncher got to the top, it seemed too good to be true, and sadly it was.

Ali was bigger, but again partly because there was less to do in the 60s and 70s than in 80s and the sport was bigger still than it was in the 80s. Also Ali had top talent to fight and sadly prime Tyson did not.

As for it happening again; I cannot see it. Boxing does not get the kudos it once had, and probably will only continue to get smaller, so even if the new 'Ali' or 'Tyson' comes along, they will not get to the heights of fame of their peers.

 

He was a real phenomenon at his peak. Great back story, fantastic all action style and seemed unbeatable with the right team behind him. I remember the excitement and anticipation for all his big fights and couldn't believe it when he lost to Douglas. What I wouldn't give for someone like Tyson to inject some life into the division.

 

The guy had his own video game,a record selling nes game in the top 10 that sold over 2 million copies.today he has his own boxing promotion and cartoon among being in films...hes more popular now than ever,hes actually the most popular HW Boxer today and hes not even fighting anymore.Good/Bad publicity has made Tyson famous outside the ring,inside he was a spectacle of watching how long or if anyone would make it out of one round.

 

More famous than Jordan, Woods and the rest of the n!ggas mentioned earlier

 

They are 1 and 2

1 and 1a even

 

You did not have your 400+ TV channels in the 80s. You did not have your X Box, your Playstation. You did not have your 4G Mobile phone. And you did not have your Internet.

Now a days anything you like that is a bit 'quirky', you can find out about thanks to our amazing communication network.

Back in the 80s as a keen (but useless) sportsman, I had access to the local Football club, the local Rugby club and the local Boxing club. If you were good enough at school, you also had access to an Athletics club.

If I wanted to watch TV, I had three/four channels I could watch, and by the end of the decade, I finally had a TV in my bedroom. Computer wise I was dreaming of the amazing Amiga, whilst playing the portable Donkey Kong game.

So compared to today, entertainment was very limited.

As for Boxing now a days, yes in the USA PPV's can be huge. But Closed Circuit and PPV have not really taken off in Europe and even in the UK, there is a resentment about it, that Americans do not have.

Also remember if boxing was such a big deal the Networks would be all over it. The truth is the fans of the sport are not those that interest the networks. And the sport is so expensive to produce that it only makes sense on some kind of pay TV.

Now I am sure the sport still has a place in culture, but it is smaller than it once was, and I think it will continue to shrink.