It seems there's a few boxers that adopt a new persona in order to sell tickets. Much like a pro wrestler it seems. Who was the best and who were some of the worst? Ali - I don't think his character was too much different from his personality. Just took what was there and exaggerated it. Fury - From what I've seen his swearing working man non-training character is all a put-on. I've seen several videos of him in more relaxed settings and his accent is actually what I imagine a wealthy English gentleman would sound like and he can be fairly soft spoken. The entire gypsie thing is a wonderful act. ODLH - The golden boy persona was similar to AJ. Very marketable immigrant. Super handsome and women loved him. Turns out he was actually living a really crazy drugged up lifestyle. Wilder - Wilder pretends to be a comic book character who calls upon his African ancestors to give him his one punch ko power. If it REALLY WAS a comic book, it would be awesome. In real life it's corny as Hell. The funny thing is...he seems to actually be fairly close in real life to the marketable wholesome guy. Started boxing late to support his family, made it to the top with limit skills, overachiever etc. AJ - Apparently AJ is a little more rough around the edges than he seems. He's adopted this Captain America act of being the ultimate wholesome, handsome, hero. Kind of like a John Cena for boxing I think. He's great in pre-taped manufactured pieces, and really stiff and nervous when speaking on the fly. Eubank Sr - Everything this guy did was so cringy. Not even sure where to begin. There are a few examples where I honestly don't know how much is a character and how much was an act: Late 90's tyson - This guy seemed genuinely off his rocker. The only thing that makes me doubt was how calm and chill he is now. People do mellow with age, but he was acting INSANE. The fact is...his fighting wasn't that great during this era. His wildman act extended his career on top by a full decaded in my opinion because people just had to tune in to see what crazy thing he would do or say next. Mayorga - The cigerette smoking beer drinking street fighter act was really great. Surely he had to be a little more dedicated to the craft than he seemed...but then again his technique didn't look like that of someone who spent a lot of time training. Ray Leonard - Could anyone really be that polished and born to be a likeable celeb? Foreman - When he was young...I'm not sure he was truly that hateful. Now that he's old, i'm not sure he's truly this nice.
Ali Foreman Pep Monzon Duran Hagler Tyson Holyfield Lewis W. Klitschko USyK Fury Wilder (just for that crushing right hand)
I agree with everything besides Foreman and Tyson, I believe both stated it took a life changing experience to change the way they viewed life and themselves. Maybe it was slightly over exaggerated but I believe it wasn't forced. For Foreman it was his stroke/meeting of god For Tyson it was making mistakes, many, MANY mistakes. Only recently he's recovered from the dark depths of his mind.
I think Marvin Hagler can be added. After the 1st Anterfermo fight , he took it personally . Came up with the mantra of " Destruct and Destroy " Then brutally cleaned out the division.
Sugar Ray Leonard emulated Ali the way Kobe Bryant emulated Michael Jordan. However Ray Leonard polished off the rough edges and never really got involved in the social activism.
With Tyson, I think it is a combo of mellowing with age, removing toxic influences from his life, and self medication with weed. In general, I'd say drugs other than caffeine don't do anything positive for anyone, but it seems the weed helps him keep those demons bottled up. Foreman had a near death experience with that heat stroke. That'll change a man for sure.
Art Aragon, the original Golden Boy, played the heel to LA audiences and got paid handsomely due to people buying tickets in hopes of seeing him get bashed. Basically it was the ‘I’m too good for you, I hang out with Hollywood celebs’ schtick. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Georges Carpentier marketed as a high-society dandy from France with his “Orchid Man” persona to fight rough-and-tumble Jack Dempsey? And I’m not sure if it was anything other than Max being Max, but Baer certainly projected himself as a playful playboy who didn’t take boxing all that seriously and liked yucking it up more than training, but with that right hand he was a terror in the ring (not as portrayed in the Cinderella Man movie as a villain, just the opposite really).
James Tillis is actually the most extreme and most interesting imo. Went from "Quick" Ali imitation to a guy that could pack a devastating right hand. Tillis was not very powerful and certainly no ATG, but he knew how to throw those rights just perfect.
Ezzard Charles underwent a similar transformation in style and representation. Around the time he fought Coley Wallace he began to emphasize power punching and decreasing his focus on speed and defense. It didn't really work in my opinion cuz I don't think Charles had natural power. That said, his ko of Satterfield is the best portrayal of his change to a "puncher".
Ray Leonard had that smile and made-for-TV personality, but he was a stone killer inside. I think he relished dominating his opponents physically and mentally as much or more than Duran, but Roberto wore his ‘animal’ persona on his sleeve. Ray would smile while looking in your eyes and slitting your throat.
I think you’re wrong about Ali…he didn’t exaggerate anything lol that’s the way he was from a little kid. He used to go around his neighborhood and knock on doors asking people to attend his amateur fights claiming to be the future champion of the world lol. Foreman is the perfect example of a guy changing his marketability. I’ve heard good things about Mayweather in person. Making me think at least some of the cockiness and narcissism was partially an act to sell tickets. He’s always been a gracious winner toward the loser of the bout imo. I’m sure there’s one or two examples otherwise but from what I’ve seen anyway.
I heard hreat stories about Aragon’s personal life. Didnt he date both Marilyn Monroe and Jane Mansfield? That’s as good as the world title he never won.