Mike Tyson In my experience of seeing videos and just talking to people, Ali and Mayweather get mentioned a similar amount (Ali a bit more, Floyd a bit less). The only difference is is that I have Tyson is FAR lower on a ranking scale while no matter how I am feeling Ali is always a top 5 (and arguable GOAT) and Floyd a top 15 (at least as of late). Even if Ali gets double the mentions I still see him as less overrated than Tyson. For more knowledgeable fans it changes. I have, however, seen both Dempsey and Johnson get ranked ridiculously high on more than one list. Overall it seems pretty natural for heavyweights and undefeated fighters to get overrated.
When people say overrated regarding Ali in what way though ? he has by far the deepest resume in Heavyweight history, and in his prime rates as probably one of the best H2H fighters ever in Heavyweight history. Yes he may be very well known/popular to casuals, but that doesn't mean he's overrated in regards to how hes rated. He's rated highly because hes a great fighter with an amazing resume. For me i think someone like Khaosai Galaxy is overrated, Ring Magazine rated him as the 43rd best fighter of all time. Yet he never unified and his opposition was very forgettable, and when you take into account hes rated above fighters like McCallum, Hearns ODLH, Tyson, Saldivar, Hearns, Pedroza, Napoles, RJJ, etc. That seems absolutely bonkers to me. Another fighter who i think is a bit overrated is Bob Foster, now don't get me wrong i love his KO's. But his opposition was not that strong and he missed out on Galindez, Conteh. Now i'm not saying that's his fault as he was coming towards the end of his career, but for me he never beat truly beat a very good or great Light Heavyweight, unless you count Dick Tiger who was more known for his Middleweight achievements.
In the sense that so many would name him the greatest fighter that has ever lived, and he probably isn't.
Well i think people call him that for the impact he made on the sport, aswell as all his other achievements and memorable fights. But i don't think he's overrated in regards to his achievements and ability in the ring. If you look at my other examples Khaosai Galaxy is rated very highly but i've never understood why, i wasn't overly impressed when i watched footage of him. And his resume is very forgettable and he never unified either. For me smaller fighters like Inoue, Estrada, have already surpassed him. Yet a boxing historian would say i'm talking rubbish which is baffling to me. Bob Foster is another one who people often rate as a top 5 Light Heavyweight of all time, and whilst i do like him as a fighter. His resume is pretty forgettable in all honestly and not worthy of top 5, i guess the way he destroyed his opponents with highlight reel KO's has to be taken into consideration when rating him. But i still think he does get overrated somewhat.
Yeah, but it's hard to think of a fighter being more overrated than one who is consistently voted the greatest of all time when he isn't. https://www.sportbible.com/boxing/n...voted-the-greatest-boxer-of-all-time-20190117 You say that he's voted so based upon "The impact he made on the sport" and that this is fair enough, but here is an ESPN poll that votes him number one purely on athleticism https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/fittest-athlete/boxing-espn.htm: There is basically no point in having "who is the greatest boxer" polls. Ali will almost always win. And it's not true. That's savagely overrated.
Have to mention Vitali Klitschko. Gets favoured over ATGs repeatedly when his best win is past prime Sam Peters.
How come? I've seen you criticize the technique of old fighters like McVea, but Fitz looked pretty terrible on film as well.
No one KO's that many dudes up and down weight divisions, at a mostly world class level, by accident. Fighting still comes down to hitting hard and often enough to disable your opponent before he can do the same to you. Fitz was a good as it got at that.
By casual fans, Mike Tyson EASILY. He's my favorite fighter but casual fans sweep aside every defeat with the past prime bull****. Yes, he was past it (except for Douglas) but he was still young and in his absolute physical prime. It was his choice to let his skills erode and fire the people that helped him become who he was. Look at Ali's record after exile, just ridiculous. No excuse.