Mike Tyson is/was more famous then mike jordan in their primes

[mastermind]

Did you live outside the US? How van you be so sure?

I lived part of my childhood in the Philippines, and I can tell you, in those times, Kareem Abdul Jabbar was the most recognizable sports figure.

I'm speaking from experience living abroad, while your speaking from experience living in the US

Throw me some links to support your American views on this

I am Nigerian.

My family back in Lagos knew of Tyson and talked about him. Jordan was mentioned, but not that much. Hakeem was more of a star there but they didnt care about basketball that much.


Not only that, but your specific example and my specific example doesnt speak for everyone. Boxing is still a bigger draw around the globe than basketball.

 

[Lewis Black]

I am Nigerian.

My family back in Lagos knew of Tyson and talked about him. Jordan was mentioned, but not that much. Hakeem was more of a star there but they didnt care about basketball that much.


Not only that, but your specific example and my specific example doesnt speak for everyone. Boxing is still a bigger draw around the globe than basketball.

Why u still tryna explain to these people breh. One dude said that jordan was more popular then tyson because of a video game, these dudes don't know shyt lol Africans, euros, asians, latin americans have all said tyson was bigger but they still talking?

 

[West Coast Avenger]

young nikkaz cant comprehend shyt these days.....

 

[BIGDENNIS10UK]

i have worked as a sport columnist on occasions, im in Greece..
But i just speak based on my experiences, what i've seen and what i've heard, just my opinion

I have never seen a basketball match being shown in any pub in Europe.

Lol@being outside a pub and the board showing "Denver bullies vs las Vegas starship troopers".

The average englushman has no clue of the rules of basketball.

It's hurts Americans, but that sport is local and until the coli smily, I'd heard of Jordan's name/trainer, but couldn't pick him out if a line up.

Tyson on the other hand......

 

[BIGDENNIS10UK]

I'm always amazed by that assumption.
Tom Brady, Favre, Manning, Bonds, Griffey, McGwire, Jeter and A-Rod could walk around Paris or London and nobody would recognize them (except maybe the occasional american tourist).
The opposite mostly is true for european soccer players here.
Basketball is the only US sport that's truly international (thanks to the 1992 Dream Team and the Jordan era).

This post is so wrong.


I have never heard the name McGwire, let alone recognise him

I just got bsck from amsterdam thus weekend, they was showing rugby and premier league football in the pub on Saturday, no American sport was mentioned on any boards outside any pubs and I'm talking the most populated part of the city.


Tyson>Jordan (the trainer is carrying Jordan, but tbh noone even really wears the massive trainers over here)

 

[Lakers Offseason]

Why u still tryna explain to these people breh. One dude said that jordan was more popular then tyson because of a video game, these dudes don't know shyt lol Africans, euros, asians, latin americans have all said tyson was bigger but they still talking?

Why don't you throw me a link where it supports your argument that boxing was a bigger sport than basketball in the late 80's into the 90's. Give me a convincing argument besides what you think you know.

Did Tyson have bigger endorsement deals than Jordan? Endorsement deals are a good way to quantify an athlete's popularity. Companies use their star spokesman on TV ads, print ads, etc, thus giving them a wider reach of audience. Not saying this is the only measure, but it's a good indicator and it's a good start in using facts in this debate instead of using here say.

So what were Tyson's endorsements numbers like?

 

[Lewis Black]

This post is so wrong.


I have never heard the name McGwire, let alone recognise him

I just got bsck from amsterdam thus weekend, they was showing rugby and premier league football in the pub on Saturday, no American sport was mentioned on any boards outside any pubs and I'm talking the most populated part of the city.


Tyson>Jordan (the trainer is carrying Jordan, but tbh noone even really wears the massive trainers over here)

Why don't you throw me a link where it supports your argument that boxing was a bigger sport than basketball in the late 80's into the 90's. Give me a convincing argument besides what you think you know.

Did Tyson have bigger endorsement deals than Jordan? Endorsement deals are a good way to quantify an athlete's popularity. Companies use their star spokesman on TV ads, print ads, etc, thus giving them a wider reach of audience. Not saying this is the only measure, but it's a good indicator and it's a good start in using facts in this debate instead of using here say.

So what were Tyson's endorsements numbers like?

Read what the euro, africans, latin americans and even asians are saying...They all say that tyson was much bigger then jordan. The latin american dude even said tyson had latin america on lock, what more proof do u want lol

Read the thread again my dude and theres my proof.

 

[AlbertPullhoez]

Why don't you throw me a link where it supports your argument that boxing was a bigger sport than basketball in the late 80's into the 90's. Give me a convincing argument besides what you think you know.

Did Tyson have bigger endorsement deals than Jordan? Endorsement deals are a good way to quantify an athlete's popularity. Companies use their star spokesman on TV ads, print ads, etc, thus giving them a wider reach of audience. Not saying this is the only measure, but it's a good indicator and it's a good start in using facts in this debate instead of using here say.

So what were Tyson's endorsements numbers like?

Tyson had endorsements but lost his endorsements after he caught that rape charge. A good way to judge and look at how big Tyson was is check the gates of his fights as champion, money that was grossed and his PPV buys. Outside of Sugar Ray Leonard you'd be hard to find a fighter post 1980 that's had a lot of endorsements

Floyd Mayweather makes more money than almost any athlete in the world and he doesnt have a single endorsement to his name

 

[BIGDENNIS10UK]

Why don't you throw me a link where it supports your argument that boxing was a bigger sport than basketball in the late 80's into the 90's. Give me a convincing argument besides what you think you know.

Did Tyson have bigger endorsement deals than Jordan? Endorsement deals are a good way to quantify an athlete's popularity. Companies use their star spokesman on TV ads, print ads, etc, thus giving them a wider reach of audience. Not saying this is the only measure, but it's a good indicator and it's a good start in using facts in this debate instead of using here say.

So what were Tyson's endorsements numbers like?

The fact I have been in pubs that opened late for a Tyson fight (after he got out of jail), pulling out the big screen at 3am proved it to me.

They have never shown a bball game in any pub I have been in, you'd have to find some specialist basketball pub to see Jordan, but I've never seen one of them, I doubt one exists, people just don't care enough for them to sell it to us.

 

[Lakers Offseason]

Read what the euro, africans, latin americans and even asians are saying...They all say that tyson was much bigger then jordan. The latin american dude even said tyson had latin america on lock, what more proof do u want lol

Read the thread again my dude and theres my proof.

So you gonna dismiss that big companies like Nike, Gatorade, and McDonalds were pushing Jordan in front of people all over the world and thus making him more known? What brands were using Tyson in their adverts?

Here's some excerpts of a TIME article about basketball written in 2003, well after Jordan had made the NBA a global game:

The global appeal is filling the NBA's coffers. About 20% of all NBA merchandise — including NBA Cologne in Spain and NBA school supplies in Latin America — is now sold outside the U.S., providing an extra $430 million in annual revenue. And that doesn't include the countless knock-off jerseys with creative team names like the San Jose Bulls that fly off Third World shelves. The NBA is building an NBA City theme restaurant in the Dominican Republic (the other one is in Orlando, Fla.) and is thinking of opening freestanding NBA stores in Asia and Europe. Separate NBA boutiques exist in big department stores like El Corte Ingles in Spain. Nearly 15% of the league's $900 million in annual TV revenue (excluding local broadcasts) is now derived from its 148 television partners in 212 countries and territories. Some 40% of visitors to NBA.com (which includes sites in Spanish, Japanese and, since mid-January, Chinese) log on from outside the U.S., and a million fans pay $10 a month to listen to streaming English or Spanish audio of almost any game.

Basketball still trails soccer though.

As the world's game, basketball remains a distant second to soccer, which has fans in almost every country, totaling more than 1.25 billion. But there's no denying that basketball's appeal is on the rise, especially among younger, urban and middle-class fans. Like soccer, basketball is a relatively cheap game and easy to start playing. It requires only a ball and a makeshift hoop hung on a tree or the side of a house. In Mexico, there is scarcely a town that doesn't have at least one court, and even in impoverished Nigeria, many homes have a rim at the back, sometimes fashioned out of a bent tire iron. Basketball is the most popular school sport in China, where an estimated 250 million players shoot the ball with an NBA-influenced aggressiveness and flash that were seldom seen just a few years ago.

Read more: The NBA's Global Game Plan - TIME

Throw me a link with some substantial numbers and shyt to support your boxing claim.

 

[Lakers Offseason]

The fact I have been in pubs that opened late for a Tyson fight (after he got out of jail), pulling out the big screen at 3am proved it to me.

They have never shown a bball game in any pub I have been in, you'd have to find some specialist basketball pub to see Jordan, but I've never seen one of them, I doubt one exists, people just don't care enough for them to sell it to us.

I'm sure that same pub probably televised Olympic events late at night featuring athletes we've never even heard off.

 

[Lakers Offseason]

Tyson had endorsements but lost his endorsements after he caught that rape charge. A good way to judge and look at how big Tyson was is check the gates of his fights as champion, money that was grossed and his PPV buys. Outside of Sugar Ray Leonard you'd be hard to find a fighter post 1980 that's had a lot of endorsements

Floyd Mayweather makes more money than almost any athlete in the world and he doesnt have a single endorsement to his name

And who's more popular globally today, Floyd or Kobe?

 

[AlbertPullhoez]

And who's more popular globally today, Floyd or Kobe?

IMO it's even. Kobe is just more visible and seen by the public damn near every day.

Floyd only fights once a year and isnt in the public sporting eye constantly at this point but when he fights the whole world is tuned in. Just look at the buzz he created by simply Tweeting he was gonna fight Devon Alexander. Look at the numbers his PPV is gonna do on May 4th

 

[ThaGlow]

I definitely knew of Mike Tyson before Jordan. Also wanted to add this

IMO Tyson gets the nod over Jordan because Tyson was not a guy the world was supposed to like. Also you could argue though he had a training camp, he did all the work in the ring by himself.

 

[Lakers Offseason]

IMO it's even. Kobe is just more visible and seen by the public damn near every day.

Floyd only fights once a year and isnt in the public sporting eye constantly at this point but when he fights the whole world is tuned in. Just look at the buzz he created by simply Tweeting he was gonna fight Devon Alexander. Look at the numbers his PPV is gonna do on May 4th

The whole world? Come on breh, his biggest fight with the most buys (2.4 million views) aren't even the same number of viewers that watch the All Star game (7 million) last year when Kobe yelled at LeBron

Lets use some logic. Boxing is an inclusive sport. You've got to shell out $50+ to watch the fights. Plus boxers only fight maybe once or twice a year. To top it all off, they don't have large endorsement deals because companies know that it's useless to use boxers because they don't generate enough Q rating amongst the general public.

Basketball players, meanwhile play 82 games in the regular season, viewed nightly by more people on average that watched Floyd's biggest fight. Playoffs have even bigger ratings. They have large endorsement deals because their Q rating is high amongst the general public. They're more recognizable plain and simple.

So no, they're not even.