Who rates higher Manny Pacquiao or Joe Louis?

I claimed that hundreds of millions of people, if not more, know who he is.

 

8 divisions champ
4 decades champ
Some losses are robbery

I have to go with midget here.

 

You said hundreds of millions if not billions know who Pacquiao is. The former is very plausible. The latter is hilariously inaccurate.

 

Manny was a great boxer but he didn't transcend the sport in the way a Louis, an Ali, a Tyson a Sugar Ray Robinson, or a Dempsey did. Some of it is he wasn't a heavy and some of it is he wasn't an American. If someone wants to say he was the greatest pound for pound boxer I reckon they have a good case but I suspect those who say it was Sugar Ray have a good case too.

 

This may come as a surprise to you, but if you have more than hundreds of millions, you have more than a billion. There's nothing in between.

Let's say 100 million in Indonesia and SE Asia not counting the Phillipines know who is. Ditto 100 million in China. 150 million in North America including Mexico. 100 million in Europe including Russia. 50 million between Japan and Korea. 50 million South America. Add in 150 million form Filiapinos and Filapino diaspora. And the rest are covered from the 3 or 4 billion people I haven't mentioned due to Google and social media. There's your billion.

 

You're not comprehending the levels here.

There are 150 million Filipinos and it's likely every other person there knows who he is. A safe bet is anywhere from 80-100 excluding old senile people, babies, and weirdos living under rocks.

The US boxing scene isn't as crazy as it was before at it's peak. I'd say it's mostly only the casual boxing consumer and a handful of people who keep up with sports that immediately recognize Pac in a photo or ad. Considering the PPV buys, 50-75 million people in the US immediately knowing Pacquiao by face and name is reasonable. 100 million is really pushing it but possible.

Plenty of Mexicans know him since he fought some of their champions. 128 million population and boxing is even bigger there than the us. Let's be generous and say 100 million.

The u might be the 3rd largest boxing community but Pacquiao isn't as much of a big name. I sincerely doubt even a 3rd of their population knows who he is aside from hardcore boxing fans and Hatton fans. Let's throw in 10 million.

That's still only 280-300 million with very generous estimates. Even accounting for other latin countries, Russia, and east Asia, you'd be extremely lucky to hit half a billion. No boxer or athlete touches a billion outside of immortal status celebrities like Ali, Tyson, Jordan, Bolt, LeBron, the Rock, Shaq, etc. Billion(s) with the plural form (which you did in fact write) is comical.

 

Don't forget Wilt, Arnold, Tiger, and Serena. Manny might have been the greatest at his sport but he didn't transcend his sport they way they transcended their sport.

 

I said know who is, not immediately recognize a photo of him.

You basically don’t understand what social media does in terms of exposing people to big name celebrities.

Facebook has over a billion daily users if I remember right.

You don’t need to be a boxing fan to be forcefed a Pacquiao clip.

 

Wilders brutal knockout of stiverne went viral. There were even memes and voice overs. Hundreds of millions shared it on social media.

Less than a 5th of those people will know wilders first and last name while recognizing him immediately from a photo.

You really don't get how large a billion people is. You're literally claiming 1 in 8 people on planet earth know who Pacquiao is. This would be comparable to people like Jordan, Ali, etc. It's nonsense.

 

I reckon 1 in 8 people know who Tiger, Arnold, and Serena are but I wouldn't be as confident in Serena. Culture loosely defined is America's largest export and for that reason I would say 1 in 8 people know who they are.

 

The X factor is that Pacquiao is known throughout Asia too and you aren’t seeing through that perspective.

Either way, I said there are hundreds of millions who know him, possibly more, and we both agree that Louis wasn’t know to the same degree so it’s settled.

 

Pac didn’t dominate the field like Louis did. He has a short streak of beating the heck out of a lot of people. Heck Pac wasn’t even the best at his weight of his era. Mayweather is ahead of him. Nobody was better then Louis for like a 15 year stretch in the toughest division. Have to go Louis here. But I do like Pac and think it’s close

 

A transcendent athlete is an athlete who is known beyond fans of the sport he or she competes in. That can be different than who is the best person at that sport but not always. It includes counting the people who know who he or she is but not limited to it.

 

People overstate how much boxing matters in the world.

 

A genuinely interesting thread idea ruined by a "cultural impact" pissing contest.