BoxRec

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?

The boxers are still stepping up when the quality matchups are on.

Each decade had their stars which have helped to push the sport along, there are others but these were all big names.

40's Louis
50's Marciano and Robinson
60 and 70's Ali
80's Leonard and Tyson
90's Roy Jones
00's Mayweather and PacMan

If 1 name has to mentioned it was Ali, you walk the streets today and stop a perfect stranger, ask him to name the 1st boxer that comes to mind, it will be Ali.

HM to Tyson and Pacman and RJJ.

The television producers who used to put on FREE fights on TV. I am thinking in particular, the guy who green lit boxing on Wide World of Sports back in the 60s, 70s, & 80s.

I think it was the fact that boxing matches were a regular fixture on TV. These matches consisted of championship title fights too.

Wide World of Sports brought great boxers on TV and introduced them to the average joe.

zojo, wrote:The television producers who used to put on FREE fights on TV. I am thinking in particular, the guy who green lit boxing on Wide World of Sports back in the 60s, 70s, & 80s.

I think it was the fact that boxing matches were a regular fixture on TV. These matches consisted of championship title fights too.

Wide World of Sports brought great boxers on TV and introduced them to the average joe.

Agreed,
dont forget the 90s

harshfriller wrote:

zojo, wrote:The television producers who used to put on FREE fights on TV. I am thinking in particular, the guy who green lit boxing on Wide World of Sports back in the 60s, 70s, & 80s.

I think it was the fact that boxing matches were a regular fixture on TV. These matches consisted of championship title fights too.

Wide World of Sports brought great boxers on TV and introduced them to the average joe.

Agreed,
dont forget the 90s

...and the 90s.

I will say Jack Dempsey. He caused the sport to become not only mainstream but each of his fights to become of the most anticipated and popular events of the day.

Dempsey, Louis and Ali were huge in their times. Leonard and Tyson were similarly big. It's hard though not to all into the trap of just presuming American audiences are all that counts. Duran must have been a huge draw in Central and South America. Pacquaio in many other parts of the world.

Roy Jones turned me off boxing.

Jack Dempsey was like Elvis. He was responsible for the greatest spike in newspaper circulation (thus news reporting distribution) over the course of his generation than any single person ever. That includes presidents and any other entertainer.
Without Elvis there would have been no proliferation of Rock and Roll and probably no Beatles, Rolling Stones etc. Similarly without Dempsey as the leader there would have been little chance of the Golden Age of Sports that led to later popularity of Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali etc.

John L Sullivan was the first true international sports star, and made boxing an acceptable sport to the general public. It's very likely that without the boost inpopularity from Sullivans presence, we may have never had a Jack Dempsey.

The Great John L wrote:John L Sullivan was the first true international sports star, and made boxing an acceptable sport to the general public. It's very likely that without the boost inpopularity from Sullivans presence, we may have never had a Jack Dempsey.

Sullivan did not make boxing acceptable to the general public. The sport was still banned in most of the country and matches were raided and stopped by the police in many jurisdictions. I would say that Sullivan brought boxing to greater public awareness but Dempsey brought it to popularity.

How about Figg and Broughton?

actjac wrote:Jack Dempsey was like Elvis. He was responsible for the greatest spike in newspaper circulation (thus news reporting distribution) over the course of his generation than any single person ever. That includes presidents and any other entertainer.
Without Elvis there would have been no proliferation of Rock and Roll and probably no Beatles, Rolling Stones etc. Similarly without Dempsey as the leader there would have been little chance of the Golden Age of Sports that led to later popularity of Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali etc.

Hi actjac

It’s a good argument but I’m not sure it works that way.

Take the Elvis example… There was, for the first time, a sizeable generation of young people with disposable income, who had access to technologies like the TV and record players. The technology and the fact that a potential market existed allowed someone like Elvis to become a huge star. Without TV and a wealthy population Elvis could never have been so popular. Or put it another way, someone from that generation of popular musicians was going to become massively successful because all of the other factors were in place. It still takes a star, someone to connect with the audience but socio-economic factors are imperative.

My guess is that it was the same for Sullivan and Dempsey, Ali and Leonard…

Panzerfaust wrote:How about Figg and Broughton?

Certainly worth mentioning.

Dempsey made headlines in New Zealand in the 20's! He & Ali have to battle it out for the top spot, IMO.

@ Mayweather & Pacquiao being mentioned ahead of De La Hoya. Neither even scratch what Oscar did in regards to the topic.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:Dempsey made headlines in New Zealand in the 20's! He & Ali have to battle it out for the top spot, IMO.

@ Mayweather & Pacquiao being mentioned ahead of De La Hoya. Neither even scratch what Oscar did in regards to the topic.

I am not sure that Ali quite influenced the popularity of the sport to the extent that Dempsey did. Jack was a universally popular figure and Ali was a polarizing personality that drew attention to many nagatives at the time.

Pacquiao, Mayweather are afterthoughts. De La Hoya at least brought fans back to what was becoming a languishing sports as the Tyson, Holyfield, Lewis (and to some degree Chavez) era was fading.

90's Trinidad and De La Hoya were really big. Specially Tito in PR. OMG!!!! Tito was so big that Monday's after his fights it was a national day in PR and every public employee had the day off including schools. At least in PR it was a big impact and a big Influence.

Props to those that mentioned Dempsey. I think his impact on the sport, particularly in America is often overlooked. Then you have Joe Louis, Muhammed Ali, and Ray Leonard. Ray Leonard most definitely made boxing front page news again, since Ali left the sport.

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

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

John L. was the Abraham to Dempsey's Moses.

actjac wrote:

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

John L. was the Abraham to Dempsey's Moses.

Or the Washington to Dempsey's Lincoln.

I would claim that the most influence to poularity was had by Figg as he practically ''reinvented'' boxing . And made it a popular past time for all parts of society in England .And Broughton for making it just a tad less savage and more spectator friendly.
They travelled to countless fairs showing boxing , aswell as starting the first boxing academys in modern days. Without them it is questionable if boxing would be a big sport today or at all the last 200-290 years

As mentioned John L Sullivan did a lot. His extensive tours and personlity helped popularize a fledgling sport. Other early fighters like Corbett and Jeffries helped. Tommy Burns' world tour is underrated. Dempsey in the 1920s, Armstrong, Louis in the 1930s and 1940s, Robinson in the 1940s and 1950s. With Ali it remained a major sport in the 1960s and 1970s.

Tex Rickard, Nat Fleischer and several boxing writers also contributed greatly through the years. The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated used to rountinely give it major coverage.

Wide World of Sports helped. However, CBS and NBC also covered boxing extensively through the 1970s and early 1980s.
One in awhile there would be fights on different networks at the same time. Occasionally there would be fights in primetime. All for free...

In the 1980s Barry McGuigan was a huge draw in the UK. The win over pedroza was one of the most watched TV events of the decade. I believe only beaten by the Live Aid concert and the royal wedding.

Barry was loved by grannies and fight fans.