Where does Tyson rank among the most famous athletes OAT?

Mike certainly seems to garner more attention than any other celebrity no matter where he goes.

He's had so many celebs on his podcast who have no shame in admitting that they're star struck around him.

 

Because of all the people he is named alongside - Pelé, Muhammad Ali, Maradona, Micheal Jordan, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Shaquille O´Neal, Cristiano, etc, Tyson got into news not only for his achievements inside the ring, but a LOT of trouble outside.

 

That too, but there's also just a bigger aura surrounding a fighter that there is a guy who kicks/shoots a ball.

All the "gladiatorial" references used in football/basketball/tennis are just metaphors for what boxing truly is.

 

But then, you need to use that logic to also explain why Lennox Lewis or Wladimir Klitschko didnt follow the lineage of ´dominant/exciting´ Heavyweight champions....

 

Can't remember who they were but there was a clash before between journalists one of whom alleged Ali could have made the same impact playing basketball. The guy disagreeing with him said that NOBODY playing "Bouncy Bouncy Orange Ball" could have had the same impact doing so as they could have via boxing.

 

Come on. It's worth pointing out that Lewis went UP in people's estimation after he quit.

 

Not even in the same ballpark as Mike Tyson, global popularity-wise

 

Things and times change. Had Ali come along in 1988 he would't have made the same impact as he did in 1968.

 

Kobe bryant is nowhere close to tyson, jordan, ali, maradonna level of notoriety

 

I know, but you also need to factor in that Boxing, globally, has dropped a lot in terms of popularity with the general public....

 

True.
Kobe Bryant´s popularity probably increased 100x as a result of him dying.

I only know about Micheal Jordan through:
a) Nike Air Jordan
b) Jumpman

Other than that, I couldn´t name a solitary move or famous moment of his like I could Tyson, Ali, Maradona, Pelé, etc

 

It's a cultural thing, as probably only 15% of Americans could name anything from Maradona or Pele (if they've even heard of them). It's just not a big sport over here.

Globally, of course, it's the biggest.

The point does stand however that until he died, Kobe was nowhere near as famous as Jordan.

 

I have him Top Ten at Heavyweight as far as All Time goes. Thought a lot about him recently. Perhaps he could have beaten some I initially didn't think so. He hit Rock Bottom and fought his way Back To The Top that's for sure.

 

Gilles “Bad News” Bilodeau is probably the world’s most famous athlete, all time

 

Tyson was a fan of Maradona, just saying.

 

It is much much higher than that. Hell, about 18% of the US pop is latino, and you can bet that any single one of them know who these two guys are

 

It's kinda weird, Maradona is generally considered the GOAT, but it's always between him and Pele, but Pele always seemed the more well known player in the USA, maybe because he played there? I dunno.

 

Pelé played for New York Cosmos from 1975-77 when the NASL was starting...so his name & face was recognized immediately








Pelé's a cunt, btw.

 

Pele's great but he's a bit of a dildo at the same time.

 

Interesting statistics somewhat related to popularity