BoxRec

Who do you guys think is the most popular heavyweight ever..both for their time, and then for their era.

for the time- 20's- Dempsey
30's- Braddock
40's-Louis
50's-Marciano
60's- Cassius Clay
70's- Smokin Joe Frazier
80's- Mike Tyson
90's- Evander Holyfield
00's- noone worth my vote.

All time... id have to take Dempsey with Braddock Louis and Evander following after...

Just curious why the name seperation for Ali?

BoxBuzz wrote:Just curious why the name seperation for Ali?

yeah and why isnt Ali on the list. Im assuming bc he would of won hands down.

no, i always thought cassius was more popular.. he was just a fun loving black kid who ran his mouth and had some fun...but when he became mohhammed ali, alot of people lost respect for him after the whole vietnam insident, the entourage he rolled with was vvery sketchy..he became very political...

well the name muhammad ali is a lot more popular than cassius clay.

i didnt wanna put ali up here because he probably would have received most votes yes..and im not sure if its just because hes popular or because hes the greatest..so i know it may sound stupid and you all may not like it, but i dont like ali as much as i like cassius so i figured what the heck he was popular enough at the time it levels the field.

I think Max Baer was much more popular than Jim Braddock in the 30's.

braddock wasnt a popular champion at all. the only reason boxing fans knew him was because he upset max baer in one of the biggest upsets, and was labeled as the cinderelle man. braddock wasnt popular as a fighter, he was more popular because of that one win over baer. the press wasnt writing articles on him on how he was a great fighter, and thats what makes braddock such an underated fighter during his time. schmelling, baer, and sharkey, and carnerea were all more popular than him. but he deserved to be mentinoed among them.



and the only reason people know him now a days is because of the movie on him.

Hey Blocky have you seen the movie? It tells it pretty much like it is. He was like Seabiscuit...a national icon. He represented the little guy and indeed ended up with a big national following. Anyone who was champ at that time would have been popular because the sport itself was so big.

Your right he wasnt that well known before the fighte but after the fight, everyone was on his bandwagon.

Rory

What is your problem with Ali.

In Britain Clay was a brash, over rated, big mouth who everyone wanted to see get his ass kicked, and a lot of cash was on Liston to do just that.

However, the name change, the stand against Vietnam and the subsequent return to the ring saw his profile rise in the eyes of everyone.

His face is better known and loved than any other sporting star on this planet never mind the most popular boxer.

I think Ali is the most appropriated name for 'the greatest'.

Having a poll like this and leaving out the most popular name in sports history (Ali) really makes a mockery of the poll to be honest....

Rory,

leaving Ali out is a joke, mate.

braddock wasnt only noticed for upsetting baer...how many people at that fight were rooting for max baer??..even max baer himself said noone was rooting for him. the crowd was rooting for braddock over joe louis, the announcer even said that the crowd was rooting for braddock over louis, their cinderella man. braddock was loved by just about every common man that watched or followed boxing in the 30's.. and that was ALOT of people... dont tell me that max baer was more popular than jim braddock.

ok i didnt expect the backfire..pretend clay is ali

rory wrote

the crowd was rooting for braddock over joe louis,

I wonder if it was because joe louis was black????? :P joe louis became the more popular champ when he retired.


and max baer was more popular than braddock, he may have not been liked as much but he was more popular. no on ever heard of braddock unti lthe baer fight, while everyone knew who max baer was already cause he killed a guy and he won the title by beating the hell out of carnera. he was also trained by jack dempsey and baer used to act like a clown and was a big media guy. everyone knew who max baer was before that fight. they may not have liked him, but people knew who he was over braddock. he also held a KO over max schmelling. and baer simply clowned around too much and took him too lightly. i think if baer trained harder and took the fight more seriously and had a game plan, he would have knocked braddock out. but braddock was underated as a fighter, due to his large amount of losses early in career. braddock might have become more popular than baer after he beat him, ill give u that.

as for the 30s i would say the most popular was Max Schmelling cause everyone knew who he was due to his battles with joe louis. plus schmelling was a hero in germany. jim braddock wasnt a big media guy like max baer and only reason he became popular was cause he upset baer and newspapers used braddock as an example of a cinderell man and battling back from adversity. but braddock as a fighter, was the least regarded of the 30s.

well the fight was in the center of chicago...black area... anyway max baer was more known, but not popular. boxing purists hated him. boxing purist loved braddock. and the general pupblic loved him as well. braddock wasnt an unknown..he had a rather large following here in jersey before he broke his hand..and i think that the recent uproar over him is a great thing. i feell in love with him about 7 yrs ago,n i love this recogniction..i no i get annoying and quite often biasd, but i do whatever i can to keep braddocks name around here, i imagine its not so hard for you. ur fav. was one of the gratest ever brockton