Fighter who transcended the sport...

Jack johnson, Ali, Tyson, Hamed, De la hoya

 

Jack Johnson
Joe Louis
Muhammad Ali
Sugar Ray Leonard
Mike Tyson
Oscar De La Hoya
Manny Pacquiao

 

Ali
Pacquiao
Tyson
Jack Johnson
SRL
Maybe Mayweather and De La Hoya as well

 

Johnson, Dempsey, Ali & Tyson.

 

Butterbean hasn't done too badly...though he didn't exactly do well in the sport (in honest terms) he has done well outside of it.

 

Only three really since technology made boxing accessble to the entire world. Ali, Leonard and Tyson. Most people in the world with access to television and news knew those guys and their faces.

To a lesser extent, De La Hoya, Mayweather and Pacquiao have since been crossover stars in certain markets, but not entirely transcended it on a global scale such that they're known or immediately recognisable by boxing fans and non-boxing fans alike.

Before that age it was Joe Louis, Marciano, Ray Robinson, maybe Dempsey, Jack Johnson, John L. Sullivan when boxing played a much bigger part in US culture.

 

Definitely Tyson and Ali!! C'mon those are the only boxers every ****er in the world knows. I dare to say that more than 60% of the world today never even heard about Pac or Floyd...

 

Maybe but them being tied to each other has increased their popularity significantly. Everyone who knows Floyd knows Manny as well and vice-versa.

 

Frank Bruno


EDIT: Not worldwide but he was a huge deal when I was growing up. In all sorts of shows on tv. I was a fan of Frank Bruno before I even knew what boxing was!

 

Kell Brook, the whole world has been working on a blueprint but as of yet there is none :deal

And to a lesser extent; SRR, Louis, Schmeling, Ali, SRL, Tyson

 

I won't deny that, but they won 't create half the impact Ali or Tyson had on boxing. Even my father who knows **** about boxin' knows what rumble in the jungle is

 

True that.

 

Muhammad Ali
Jack Johnson
Joe Louis

 

Are we talking just worldwide or break it down to countries? In Australia Danny Green and Anthony Mundine are easily as recognisable to non-boxing fans (if not more so) as Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali. Both have appeared in heaps of ridiculous ads, made cameos on TV and get coverage outside of the sport news section.

Jeff Fenech was quite popular in the 80s/90s. Lionel Rose was an instant celebrity in the late 60s/70s after defeating Japanese great Fighting Harada. There's photos around of Lionel Rose's parade through the streets of Melbourne when he returned as champ which captures the the magnitude of 400,000 odd people who flocked to see him. This is astounding if you consider the fact the Australian population back then was only just over 12 million and this was still a time when Aboriginals were still being oppressed.