After beating Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez cemented his place as a Mexican hero. Galindez in Argentina is another obvious choice.
Hi Buddy. Of course Cooper, a gentleman and a very good boxer, might I be so bold as to add Tommy Farr and also Randy Turpin, in particular Turpin, my dad told me the euphoria after his win over Robinson was almost unequalled in sporting parlance. stay safe guys.
You know, AFAIK Joe Louis is an exception; the only case of a US boxer rising to "National Hero" status. In US it is more like you have "Ethnic Heroes" appealing to specific groups: Jack Johnson - Blacks. Marciano - Italian. Barney Ross - Jews. Muhammed Ali - Muslims. Jerry Quarry - Irish.
Acelino Freitas was pretty big too ah? His wedding was watched by millions on TV, I heard on Rede Globo no less!!
Disagree with you on Ali, I feel he did reach the level of American National hero, he certainly is now. He was very briefly a hero exclusively to the black Muslims and in his exile years he became a hero to the American anti-war movement and by the late 70s he was just an American icon, being featured in Superman comics and reaching every mainstream pop culture level.
I don't see a disagreement here. Of course Ali nowadays is beloved by pretty much everybody, but back in the 60 and 70s he was a controversial and polarizing figure. Lots of people were rooting versus Ali: white supremacists, boxing establishment, right wing groups, conservative christians, anticommunists, etc. Lots of people.
No, you're not wrong there but I guess I divide Ali's public perception between the 60s and 70s. In the 60s through his exile he was very controversial, from the name change to the draft refusal but I feel like by the time he beat George Foreman in '74 and onward he became quite beloved by most. It is before my time so I may be wrong.
I agree the overall public opinion on Ali started to change around the mid 70s, but that didnt happen overnight. FOTC was in 1971 and lots of people celebrated Ali's defeat. Surely by the time of ROTJ and TiM the tide was changing, but IMO Ali was still far from being a national icon. Of course his fight against Parkinson also helped to create additional goodwill towards him. In my view it was only when Ali fired the Olimpic flame that he cemented his place as a national hero.
As a side note, It is worth noting that while Ali was still a divisive figure in US, he was universally loved around the world. Ali was HUGELY popular in Africa, Asia, Latinamerica, the Muslim world, etc. He truly was the people's champ around the world.
A couple of curveballs: Alabama Kid was apparently a big sensation in Australia. (He’s not from Alabama, btw, nor have I seen any record or mention of him ever even living there, but he is from the U.S.) Bennie Briscoe was from what I’ve read a big deal in France. And, of course, a lot of foreign-born fighters have been sensations in the USA.