Who influenced the popularity of boxing the most?

[ben geoghegan]

15 yrs before Jeff-Johnson the heavyweight championship was worth 25k a fight. 1910 it was about 100k, four times that. 15 years later Dempsey was making 100k per round vs Tunney

[ben geoghegan]

Jawnell Sullivan
natch.
He was a cornerstone.
One of the first early American celebrities.
Can you name a sports hero that came before him?

Cap Anson
Fred Archer (UK)

[Brutu]

Jawnell Sullivan
natch.
He was a cornerstone.
One of the first early American celebrities.
Can you name a sports hero that came before him?

Cap Anson
Fred Archer (UK)

Who?lol

[The Great John L]

Jawnell Sullivan
natch.
He was a cornerstone.
One of the first early American celebrities.
Can you name a sports hero that came before him?

Cap Anson
Fred Archer (UK)

You gotta love Cap Anson, and he was an early MLB great, but the most popular player from that era was Mike "King" Kelly, a great all around player who also had a very "fan friendly" personality. Kelly came a long a few years after Cap, but he contributed greatly to baseballs popularity. Unfortunately, Anson and Kelly were pretty much unknown outside of the states, while Sullivan became a celebrity in Europe as well.

[Elton John]

Who had the greatest impact and influence to vault boxing into a greater era of popularity ever?
Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis? Who?

had to be Ali

louis just came along to maintain interest in a sport that was going thru bad times. he was no Ali in terms of drawing interest. he certainly lacked Ali's flair for interviews

Tyson in the 80s is pretty much what louis was in the 30s-a fighter in which a starving sport was looking for. Only Tyson was much better on interviews. some of his lines are classic. I even own a Mike Tyson t-shirt

And of course, Dempsey was Dempsey-the all time great fighting hobo

DLH another favorite of mine. God bless him. He is first class all the way

[Goodnight, Irene]

Who had the greatest impact and influence to vault boxing into a greater era of popularity ever?
Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis? Who?

had to be Ali

louis just came along to maintain interest in a sport that was going thru bad times. he was no Ali in terms of drawing interest. he certainly lacked Ali's flair for interviews

Tyson in the 80s is pretty much what louis was in the 30s-a fighter in which a starving sport was looking for. Only Tyson was much better on interviews. some of his lines are classic. I even own a Mike Tyson t-shirt

And of course, Dempsey was Dempsey-the all time great fighting hobo

DLH another favorite of mine. God bless him. He is first class all the way

Translation = I found Louis boring in interviews, so his impact on the sport is diminished.

Hey, you know what? I think he's pretty stiff, too. That doesn't detract from his unique ability to transcend racial lines, as no other fighter had done previously. What Louis did in this department cannot be spoken of in high enough terms. It was literally unthinkable before he made it reality. That's how powerful the Louis brand was.

[actjac]

The question is- Who influenced the popularity of boxing the most?
As in: who moved the sport to a greater mainstream awareness and caused boys to go gyms to train and want to become champions.

The question was not: Who was the most popular boxer ever....or which boxer was the most influential (politically or otherwise).

[The Great John L]

The question is- Who influenced the popularity of boxing the most?
As in: who moved the sport to a greater mainstream awareness and caused boys to go gyms to train and want to become champions.

Perhaps Jack Johnson deserves a shout here. His win over Jeffries sure did increase the number and quality of HWs in the subsequent years.

[hitman09]

The question is- Who influenced the popularity of boxing the most?
As in: who moved the sport to a greater mainstream awareness and caused boys to go gyms to train and want to become champions.

The question was not: Who was the most popular boxer ever....or which boxer was the most influential (politically or otherwise).

The answer is still John L. Sullivan.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

The question is- Who influenced the popularity of boxing the most?
As in: who moved the sport to a greater mainstream awareness and caused boys to go gyms to train and want to become champions.

The question was not: Who was the most popular boxer ever....or which boxer was the most influential (politically or otherwise).

And it's still Jack Dempsey

[Panzerfaust]

The question is- Who influenced the popularity of boxing the most?
As in: who moved the sport to a greater mainstream awareness and caused boys to go gyms to train and want to become champions.

The question was not: Who was the most popular boxer ever....or which boxer was the most influential (politically or otherwise).

The answer is still Figg and Broughton

[actjac]

Lol...!!

I will buy the last three posts. (especially Dempsey)

[Ambling Alp]

The question is- Who influenced the popularity of boxing the most?
As in: who moved the sport to a greater mainstream awareness and caused boys to go gyms to train and want to become champions.

The question was not: Who was the most popular boxer ever....or which boxer was the most influential (politically or otherwise).

The answer is still John L. Sullivan.

I guess I don't agree with the statement that Who Influenced the popularity of boxing the most means "As in: who moved the sport to a greater mainstream awareness and caused boys to go gyms to train and want to become champions."

I do agree that Sullivan is a good choice as to who influenced it the most, but so is Dempsey, Ali and a few others in different ways.

[Elton John]

Who had the greatest impact and influence to vault boxing into a greater era of popularity ever?
Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis? Who?

had to be Ali

louis just came along to maintain interest in a sport that was going thru bad times. he was no Ali in terms of drawing interest. he certainly lacked Ali's flair for interviews

Tyson in the 80s is pretty much what louis was in the 30s-a fighter in which a starving sport was looking for. Only Tyson was much better on interviews. some of his lines are classic. I even own a Mike Tyson t-shirt

And of course, Dempsey was Dempsey-the all time great fighting hobo

DLH another favorite of mine. God bless him. He is first class all the way

Translation = I found Louis boring in interviews, so his impact on the sport is diminished.

Hey, you know what? I think he's pretty stiff, too. That doesn't detract from his unique ability to transcend racial lines, as no other fighter had done previously. What Louis did in this department cannot be spoken of in high enough terms. It was literally unthinkable before he made it reality. That's how powerful the Louis brand was.

that's what Im talking about; he came along at a time when the sport needed him most so he stood out more

[actjac]

Good posts and debate.