Top 10 heavies: Social impact

I write this list all the time.:deal

"Ali, Holmes, Johnson, Louis, Foreman, Lewis, V.K., Holyfield, Tyson and Liston."
:bbb
Them are my top-10 mutha's...:yep

MR.BILL:hat

 

9 are good anyway

 

Certainly. I really admire him very much for that. He isn´t the most pretty and exciting fighter and his resume as a champ lacks quite a bit. But the strength needed for what he did and the way he did it, his charisma, intelligence. Really a fascinating and inspiring man.

 

he was the polar opposite of joe louis.they may have had nothing at all in common

 

Counting is hard but even if it would have been 10, it would be sh*t.

 

I think you have to be reaching not to have Ali as the clear nr. 1. Just like Dempsey, Johnson and Louis he had a huge impact in the US, but also globally. For better or for worse, he was just as much an icon and role model for people in many Third World countries as he was formany blacks and youths in America.

Of course, he had the help of a globalized media. but it is what it is. One can just note the political dimension that often gets brought in on discussions about Ali here to see what impact he's still having in a way.

 

At the end of the day, we are talking about "social impact" here.

Louis's social impact is prety easy to interpret. He made the biggest contribution of any athlete towards dismantling the colour bar in American sports.

Johnsons social impact is much harder to asses. He did little to change the circumstances of black athletes, but his reign threw off a whole myriad of social ramifications including race riots, laws and debates in other countries about race issues in the United States.

 

Louis was not only a rolemodel for people all over the world, and make no mistake, Louis was known all over the world, not as much as Ali though, but also gave them hope in their struggle against oppression and racism. AND he contributed more to tearing down the colour bar than any other athlete, with perhaps the exception of Jesse Owens.

Ali was an icon but he did not have the same impact as Louis had.

 

We could go back further and say that fighters like Sullivan, Johnson and Langford had global fan bases.

I have no doubt that John L could have drawn a crowd in prety much any capital he visited.

 

I very much disagree. Ali was a key component (and perhaps trigger) for not only the antiwar movement and the cultural war it set about in the US, but also an important figure for the rising assertion of Third World countries in the 60's and 70's. He also radically changed how not only black people could portray themselves to the public, but also athletes at large.

I don't think he meant to set any of these things going (he was in no way shape or form a Gandhi or a Mandela), but by twist of fate he became an important catalyst for them.

For me this is no contest.

 

good post:good

 

:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl

Voidtali top 10 ??? Social impact where??? Germany?

 

no.....where

 

Wlad and Vitali make funny commercials.

 

Schmeling is nazi-bum.