Who was a bigger superstar: Ali in the 70s or Tyson in the 80s-mid 90s

In fairness I am not the most qualified to answer this, being too young for either man’s hey day (I wasn’t even six yet by the time Tyson had lost to Douglas), & from a remote corner of the world (Australia).

But it seems to me looking from a distance Ali was a bigger ‘world’ figure - he had all the Boxing popularity of Tyson, plus the political & social element Tyson lacked, or that’s the way it seems. Someone from both men’s day will be in a better position to answer, though.

 

Well, one gentleman had audiences with Anwar Sadat, Indira Gandhi, Leonid Brezhnev, Deng Xiaoping, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford

 

I think Ali, but I guess the only other heavyweight to rival Ali's fame during their heydays would be Jack Dempsey or maybe even Jack Johnson for other reasons.

 

Johnson had infamy, not really the same thing. Dempsey you could sort of say was the media equivalent of an Ali or Tyson for his time, specifically - if media presence had a pound-for-pound ranking, based on technological limitations instead of weight, if you will. Dempsey was as famous as was possible for the age. There are newspaper clippings of his fights as far afield as New Zealand! That’s unthinkable.

 

Muhammad Ali,hands down. His appeal went beyond the boxing fan. My mum,for example,knew nothing about boxing - she did n't know a LEFT hook from a COAT hook,bless her but she loved Muhammad. Mike Tyson attracted the casual boxing fan as well as the purists but that was where the appeal ended.

 

Ali easily--he was a superstar WORLDWIDE!! (Tyson didn't have anywhere near the acclaim internationally that Ali had!!)

 

I am taking the age and lack of tv broadcast into account, it has more that Dempsey was making these smashing gate records of his day that was never seen before. I mean you can see the Rumble in the Jungle live in the 70's, a fight in Africa in the US on your TV. Something Jack Dempsey did not have vs the likes of Firpo or Tunney.

 

We should mention Joe Louis. His place in history can't be ignored. He stuck Hitler's notion of Aryan supremacy right up his ass.

 

Louis means a lot to the sport, and his fight with Max is historic for WW2 reasons down the road, but he never capture the public like Ali or Dempsey did in their day. Louis was not making million $ gates(Outside of Baer) or smashing crowd records.

 

Like Ali, he had appeal beyond the sport, though I don’t know that he had the same kind of global appeal as Ali, despite some exposure through the war & Schmeling. Of course he was also more limited technologically than Ali.

Id hazard a guess Louis was more famous than Tyson, but less than Ali.

 

That's fair but he became legendary with the passing of time.

 

Roosevelt should have invited Louis to the White House after he kicked Schmeling's ass. Gerald Ford invited Ali to the White House after vociferously opposing a war he supported because of his cultural importance.

 

I never said he was not legendary. There is a reason he is still mention today almost 80 years later. Hell Johnson, Marciano, Dempsey, Ali ete are still talk about today because they were legendary. I am talking about other kinda of appeal something Ali had but Louis lack,

 

Ali. First of all, he had the attraction of every black person on the planet. Then every Muslim. Next, every left leaning person on the planet who was against the Vietnam war. Finally, there as no outrageous behavior, i.e. didn't **** any women and didn't go to jail...although he almost DID got to jail but not for a crime.

Mike Tyson (yes I know he's a Muslim) didn't and doesn't come close to this fame.