Johnson (Obvious) Burns (for giving a black man-Johnson-his chance at the title and Johnson being truly despised) Liston (mob ties, thug life, bully, crushed the well liked Patterson) Briggs (won from notorious decision over a very well liked Foreman) Tunney (looked like a snob compared to Dempsey to the common man) Marciano (by some for his awkward unpretty style and destroying Joe Louis) ...You know what? They were all unpopular to some group in some way. Ali, Lewis, Schmeling, Holmes, etc...
Carnera,at one point,had an image of being dense. Turned out that he was fluent in three or four languages !
Jack Johnson back at the time, but I guess his reputation has changed since then. Also of note Floyd Patterson, who I thought was a decent champ.
Marvin Hart was pretty shitty, so was Carnera. Ruiz was hated almost universally. I would say that Valuev was one of the worst, too.
Ezzard Charles. Articles at the time were absolutely vicious. Joe Louis was a very tough act to follow. Lennox Lewis. Funny, how quickly that turned around..at least with some writers in recent times.
Lot's af variables here. Most hated, hated by the most people, a person whose popularity divided a nation, globaly hated. I would lean towards jack johnson In modern days it would seem that the Klit's are hated by quite a lot of ESB posters
Briggs popped into my head because he was "unpopular" as in "unknown" and "unacknowledged". Sometimes I wonder if even he knows he held the real (aka linear) HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD. As far as being disliked by the public, I recall reading that Dempsey was very unpopular until his losses to Tunney. Most unpopular during his time? Jack Johnson. Ali during the 1960's might be second.
Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko's, I think we have to call Vlad lineal at this point in time....America does not make a big deal over these fellows....Lewis a bit more now...Not the Klitschko's in USA
one time i was eating in a restraunt where wlad happened to be, and i was the only one that knew him. no one else in the restraunt either cared or recognized him. he was one of the nicest guys you could meet, and was so happy i came up to him and chatted with him. this wasn't when he was coming up either. it was after the calvin brock fight. we spoke for like 5 minutes until my gf wanted to go. he gave me an autograph, and picture. he was pratically mobbing this fan. so, you are absolutely right, no one gives a damn about the klitch in the us. sad really when he's such a gentle giant, and interesting character.