Yes he was. When Ali was still fighting he was equally as, if not more, famous than either of those guys. Problem is that he's dead now and before that lived in relative seclusion as his illness got worse. Ali's not like Elvis or Michael Jackson. If you wanted to know what Elvis or Michael Jackson were 'about' you can just listen to their music. Ali was a sportsman and sports are very much a 'you had to be there' kind of experience. You can go back and watch old fights but they'll never be as visceral as they were when they were happening. Ali will always be highly popular and well regarded but he'll never be quite as popular or as well regarded as he was when he was fighting in the '60s and '70s and doing the thing he was most famous for doing. When he was fighting he was easily one of the biggest celebrities of the '60s and '70s.
Very hard. Tyson in the 80's/90's was as famous as any individual who ever lived imo, Ali, Michael Jackson,Elvis, Stefan Dennis, any of them !
You said he was the most famous personality ever which isn't the case. His peak fame never exceeded Michael Jackson or Elvis. Even in sport Pele was more famous than him. Stop looking through the world in American eyes.
No way, Ali was known thoughout the world, even in Africa, Mike was never that famous and his fame was tainted by his career going off the rails, the Foreman fight is one of the most famous of all time and made Ali iconic as did the first Frazier fight.
Tyson prolly was the bigger world-wide phenomenon but in and out of the ring Ali had the bigger impact and still is an idol where Tyson is hardly one.
I never said that But was close to it Pele? Get ****ing real. Pele was and is nowhere near the icon that Muhammad Ali was and is even today I'm not American Yes he was. He was revered world over same as Ali. Even at his peak degeneracy, when Tyson came out of jail and was just out of control, people went mad for him. They couldn't get enough of him. You just didn't know what he'd do or say next, except that it was bound to be exciting. One minute he's biting Holyfield's ear off, the next minute he's threatening to eat Lewis' children. That man gave people a drug. It's a little bit ironic that he was on cocaine because that's what watching Mike Tyson was like. Being on cocaine. The difference between Ali and Tyson, and why Ali ends up being 'more' famous is really the difference between the Baby Boomer generation and Generation X. Ali stood for a cause. Anti-Vietnam, Anti-War, Black Civil Rights. He empowered black people, he showed black people that they can have confidence in themselves, that it's not a bad thing for you to have pride in yourself and pride in your accomplishments. He gave people something to look up to. Tyson, Holyfield, Lewis, even more recent champions like Fury or Joshua, all talk about being inspired by Muhammad Ali and wanting to box because they watched Ali. Mike Tyson on the other hand, he isn't political, he didn't stand for a cause. He was just a really good, really explosive boxer and bad boy both in and out of the ring. He did what he wanted and said what he wanted, which is inspiring in its own way I suppose. But he was very much a Gen X 'Don't try this at home' sort of icon. In terms of 'who knows him' Ali and Tyson are probably equal. In terms of 'lasting impact on the culture' no boxer, not even Tyson, can compare to Muhammad Ali
Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in the world and Pele is arguably it's biggest star. He was just as popular as Ali if not more.
He was an immensely popular and well regarded football player but he does not transcend the sport like Ali does.
For those that's 70s born it's Ali. What he did in and outside of the ring. If you grew up in the 80s then 90s then 2000s then 2010s it's gotta be Tyson. He was the circus freak out of all the animals. A moving freak show that didn't know how to behave. Most older cats choose Ali, but Tyson is captivating with tons of relevency there's 3 Tyson movies, hotboxin with Mike and tons of other plot twists that trencsended the sport with his aura of invincibility. For the shock factor mo said them vietkong never harmed me. Tyson said he wants to stomp on people's testicles. Like Marilyn Munroe vs Marilyn Manson. Depends which era you were in.
