Haye v Klit - Negotiations underway confirms IBF

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

Sorry Jaz but Haye-Valuev was everywhere. It was all over the papers, all over most TV stations and then after he won it, it was similar to when Lennox beat Evander. Every back page (and a lot of front) was filled with Haye for 4-5 days after the fight. It sold just short of 1 million ppv's on Sky which when you think there are 5 times as many people in the U.S. as Britain and they are doing brilliantly to sell 2 million PPV's is quite astounding IMO. I don't think 1 million people would buy a Football match between Man Utd and Liverpool or Chelsea for £15.

Although I could probably agree that Rooney, Giggs and Gerrard may well be more well known at the minute when I sit back and think about it. Haye in the next 12 months has the potential to leave them in the dust both in Britain and worldwide.

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Haye-Valuev was everywhere I agree, maybe outside of London it's different, but here Mayweather is bigger certainly with people under 25. He can be big, but football will always be the #1 game in this country and he will never surpass the biggest names there. I love boxing, but football players are our superstars, people might not pay £15 for a normal game, but I bet you'd have in the many millions who'd pay to watch the FA Cup Final, it's just all the biggest football games are actually protected to be on free tv.

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So do you think any footballer in history has been more famous than Ali then?? I'm really interested to hear your opinion on this.

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You're talking worldwide, but you could actually make a strong argument regarding Maradona. Using Ali as an example doesn't work.

Try this, who's more famous in the UK, Henry Cooper or Bobby Charlton? Lennox Lewis or Gazza?

We're talking UK, not worldwide, Ali was a true phenomena who was representative of more than the sport, hence his slightly inflated position talent-wise in boxing history.

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

Haye-Valuev was everywhere I agree, maybe outside of London it's different, but here Mayweather is bigger certainly with people under 25. He can be big, but football will always be the #1 game in this country and he will never surpass the biggest names there. I love boxing, but football players are our superstars, people might not pay £15 for a normal game, but I bet you'd have in the many millions who'd pay to watch the FA Cup Final, it's just all the biggest football games are actually protected to be on free tv.

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So do you think any footballer in history has been more famous than Ali then?? I'm really interested to hear your opinion on this.

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You're talking worldwide, but you could actually make a strong argument regarding Maradona. Using Ali as an example doesn't work.

Try this, who's more famous in the UK, Henry Cooper or Bobby Charlton? Lennox Lewis or Gazza?

We're talking UK, not worldwide, Ali was a true phenomena who was representative of more than the sport, hence his slightly inflated position talent-wise in boxing history.

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First and foremost he was a boxer, that is what made him famous. He was famous for holding the biggest prize in sport, the HW championship of the world. You are entitled to your own opinion as far as his ability goes although for me he is as good as his reputation.

I know this isn't a great example but Google Muhammad Ali and see how many results you return and then do the same for Maradona. And use the UK version of Google too. I'll bet Ali out does him 5 times over at least.

In 1999 the BBC did a sportsman of the millenium and Ali beat Pele (who was second) and got over ten times as many votes. The HW champ of the world has far more capabilities than a footballer fame wise. I'm not knocking football at all (although i'm not happy with it at the moment, being a Burnley fan ;) ), I love the sport but boxers have the potential to be the most famous sportsmen ever and that is proven.

Also as far as Lennoz and Gazza go i'd say Lennox is ahead of Gazza in fame, both here and worldwide. Charlton was a world class footballer whereas Cooper was brit/euro level boxer so that is not really fair but if you consider him a 3rd tier boxer then consider a 3rd divsion footballer from the 60's then his fame is astronomical in comparison

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

So do you think any footballer in history has been more famous than Ali then?? I'm really interested to hear your opinion on this.

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You're talking worldwide, but you could actually make a strong argument regarding Maradona. Using Ali as an example doesn't work.

Try this, who's more famous in the UK, Henry Cooper or Bobby Charlton? Lennox Lewis or Gazza?

We're talking UK, not worldwide, Ali was a true phenomena who was representative of more than the sport, hence his slightly inflated position talent-wise in boxing history.

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First and foremost he was a boxer, that is what made him famous. He was famous for holding the biggest prize in sport, the HW championship of the world. You are entitled to your own opinion as far as his ability goes although for me he is as good as his reputation.

I know this isn't a great example but Google Muhammad Ali and see how many results you return and then do the same for Maradona. And use the UK version of Google too. I'll bet Ali out does him 5 times over at least.

In 1999 the BBC did a sportsman of the millenium and Ali beat Pele (who was second) and got over ten times as many votes. The HW champ of the world has far more capabilities than a footballer fame wise. I'm not knocking football at all (although i'm not happy with it at the moment, being a Burnley fan ;) ), I love the sport but boxers have the potential to be the most famous sportsmen ever and that is proven.

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I didn't say that was my opinion, but in Latin America who do you think is bigger?

Anyway, you simply can't compare Haye to Ali. Even Tyson never got onto the level of Ali, and Haye is just nowhere near an Ali or Tyson.

Anyway you didn't answer my question pertaining to the UK, Cooper or Charlton or Lewis or Gazza?

In terms of fame, they are far more comparable with Haye/Rooney etc

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

You're talking worldwide, but you could actually make a strong argument regarding Maradona. Using Ali as an example doesn't work.

Try this, who's more famous in the UK, Henry Cooper or Bobby Charlton? Lennox Lewis or Gazza?

We're talking UK, not worldwide, Ali was a true phenomena who was representative of more than the sport, hence his slightly inflated position talent-wise in boxing history.

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First and foremost he was a boxer, that is what made him famous. He was famous for holding the biggest prize in sport, the HW championship of the world. You are entitled to your own opinion as far as his ability goes although for me he is as good as his reputation.

I know this isn't a great example but Google Muhammad Ali and see how many results you return and then do the same for Maradona. And use the UK version of Google too. I'll bet Ali out does him 5 times over at least.

In 1999 the BBC did a sportsman of the millenium and Ali beat Pele (who was second) and got over ten times as many votes. The HW champ of the world has far more capabilities than a footballer fame wise. I'm not knocking football at all (although i'm not happy with it at the moment, being a Burnley fan ;) ), I love the sport but boxers have the potential to be the most famous sportsmen ever and that is proven.

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I didn't say that was my opinion, but in Latin America who do you think is bigger?

Anyway, you simply can't compare Haye to Ali. Even Tyson never got onto the level of Ali, and Haye is just nowhere near an Ali or Tyson.

Anyway you didn't answer my question pertaining to the UK, Cooper or Charlton or Lewis or Gazza?

In terms of fame, they are far more comparable with Haye/Rooney etc

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Sorry I forgot but I later edited it with my opinion on that. see above

As far as Haye being compared to Ali, i'm not trying that. I'm talking about his potential fame wise and nothing really in terms of talent. I think ali is light years ahead in both categories but Haye hasn't got the competition Ali had to make him look bad. As far as his fame potential goes, he is a good looking, well trained, muscular man who has the potential to become undisputed HW champion of the world. That sounds quite similar to Ali to me.

Lennox Lewis beats Paul Gascoigne and Henry Cooper beats Bobby Charlton in the UK Google search, for what it's worth.

David Haye beats Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao beats them both, for what it's worth.

This is quite fun.

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Originally Posted by Fenster

Lennox Lewis beats Paul Gascoigne and Henry Cooper beats Bobby Charlton in the UK Google search, for what it's worth.

David Haye beats Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao beats them both, for what it's worth.

This is quite fun.

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I am quite enjoying this little debate myself. No nastyness like you get from some other users just people using opinions and history to put there point across. Good stuff.

And WOW Pac beats Floyd?? Didn't expect that lol.

Sorry to say this but I don't think the HW championship is the biggest prize in sports anymore, maybe at 1 time like say 45-50 years ago.

In America it's all about the Superbowl and it has been that way for the past 40+ years or so.

And I'm guessing winning the World Cup would be the biggest prize in sports today since soccer is the number 1 sport in the world.

And while Ali is definitely very popular worldwide, I'm thinking Pele or Maradona may surpass him since soccer is far more popular, if you're factoring in the Latin American countries and Asian countries.

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

Sorry to say this but I don't think the HW championship is the biggest prize in sports anymore, maybe at 1 time like say 45-50 years ago.

In America it's all about the Superbowl and it has been that way for the past 40+ years or so.

And I'm guessing winning the World Cup would be the biggest prize in sports today since soccer is the number 1 sport in the world.

And while Ali is definitely very popular worldwide, I'm thinking Pele or Maradona may surpass him since soccer is far more popular, if you're factoring in the Latin American countries and Asian countries.

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Well boxing is back upto 2nd in the most watched sports in the world again.

Now I really know nothing about your Football so I don't want you to think I'm being ignorant here, but is the Superbowl that took place in say 2002 better remembered than Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson? Like I say I really don't know so i'm not being in any way funny here.

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

Sorry to say this but I don't think the HW championship is the biggest prize in sports anymore, maybe at 1 time like say 45-50 years ago.

In America it's all about the Superbowl and it has been that way for the past 40+ years or so.

And I'm guessing winning the World Cup would be the biggest prize in sports today since soccer is the number 1 sport in the world.

And while Ali is definitely very popular worldwide, I'm thinking Pele or Maradona may surpass him since soccer is far more popular, if you're factoring in the Latin American countries and Asian countries.

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Well boxing is back upto 2nd in the most watched sports in the world again.

Now I really know nothing about your Football so I don't want you to think I'm being ignorant here, but is the Superbowl that took place in say 2002 better remembered than Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson? Like I say I really don't know so i'm not being in any way funny here.

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Yes, by far. The NFL has been the number 1 sport in America since the early 1960s or so. The Superbowl every year does massive ratings and usually establishes new records in views, whether it's percentage of households or raw numbers in America. The Lombardi Trophy of the NFL is considered to be America's top prize in sports. The HW championship is just something to be view at as like say Tiger Woods winning the Masters or Pete Sampras winning Wimbledon, it gets some coverage and a few Americans may be excited about it but not big. An example would be when Hasim Rahman ko Lennox Lewis and won the HW championship in 2001, it got mentioned but wasn't considered to be big or anything.

ANd put it this way, it was estimated that 2-3 billion people watched the 2006 soccer World Cup. ANd I'm guessing the 2010 World Cup will either post similar numbers or better. So I'm guessing in terms of worldwide, winning the world cup would be the number 1 prize in sports.

I love boxing as much as teh next guy on here, but the reality is that the HW championship doesn't have the prestige it once had in America, even when Tyson and Holyfield were in their prime, the HW championship wasn't view as being the top prize.

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Originally Posted by Fenster

Lennox Lewis beats Paul Gascoigne and Henry Cooper beats Bobby Charlton in the UK Google search, for what it's worth.

David Haye beats Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao beats them both, for what it's worth.

This is quite fun.

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It's worth nothing because this forum & Lyle's endless 'why didn't Lennox rematch Vitali' rants probably make up 75% of those. ;D

In response to rjjtszyu's point (btw couldn't you have had an easier name?), Cooper was above a Brit level boxer, he was very famous at a time when boxing was a bigger sport in Britain. Even if you ignore Charlton, put him up against someone like Gordon Banks. I prefer boxing, but it & its stars will never be bigger than footballers in the UK, just won't happen.

I also think that in recent years, the title of HW champ has been replaced by P4P champ in what matters to the public.

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

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Originally Posted by Fenster

Lennox Lewis beats Paul Gascoigne and Henry Cooper beats Bobby Charlton in the UK Google search, for what it's worth.

David Haye beats Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao beats them both, for what it's worth.

This is quite fun.

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It's worth nothing because this forum & Lyle's endless 'why didn't Lennox rematch Vitali' rants probably make up 75% of those. ;D

In response to rjjtszyu's point (btw couldn't you have had an easier name?), Cooper was above a Brit level boxer, he was very famous at a time when boxing was a bigger sport in Britain. Even if you ignore Charlton, put him up against someone like Gordon Banks. I prefer boxing, but it & its stars will never be bigger than footballers in the UK, just won't happen.

I also think that in recent years, the title of HW champ has been replaced by P4P champ in what matters to the public.

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No I like my name :D

Cooper was only so famous because Britain lacked a real class act in those days. He was not a world level fighter. He dropped a very young and inexperienced Clay and that made him a household name forever. I like Cooper but he is not of the same level in boxing as any top league footballer which Banks also was. IMO the greatest GK ever. You example of Lennox vs Gazza was a good one but as I said I think Lennox was more famous in the UK.... just.

As far as the p4p champ replacing HW champ as far as what matters to the public i'll agree with that, but more because of a lack of HW talent recently than anything. If we all of a sudden had a 70's rebirth of HW talent it would be back as the major prize in boxing, way above the mythical one.

So let's just say Haye fighting Wladimir for the HW championship and ENgland in the world cup final. What would be bigger in the UK?

I'm seriously asking this question, because some posters have mentioned that Haye is the biggest sports star over there and I know soccer/football is a very popular sport there as well.

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

So let's just say Haye fighting Wladimir for the HW championship and ENgland in the world cup final. What would be bigger in the UK?

I'm seriously asking this question, because some posters have mentioned that Haye is the biggest sports star over there and I know soccer/football is a very popular sport there as well.

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England in the World cup final would be bigger no doubt. That is the one thing the English public have been waiting for, for 44 years now.

Football wins i lose :(

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

So let's just say Haye fighting Wladimir for the HW championship and ENgland in the world cup final. What would be bigger in the UK?

I'm seriously asking this question, because some posters have mentioned that Haye is the biggest sports star over there and I know soccer/football is a very popular sport there as well.

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England in the World cup final would be bigger no doubt. That is the one thing the English public have been waiting for, for 44 years now.

Football wins i lose :(

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Although that would be a great days sport if it was to happen on the same day :)

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

So let's just say Haye fighting Wladimir for the HW championship and ENgland in the world cup final. What would be bigger in the UK?

I'm seriously asking this question, because some posters have mentioned that Haye is the biggest sports star over there and I know soccer/football is a very popular sport there as well.

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It wouldn't even be debatable. Haye-fever lasts for a couple of days, maybe a week either side of the fight.

Our country cannot actually function without constant news on football. Even when there's no actual football being played, the sports pages are full of transfer stories & contracts extensions.

Any England game in the World Cup, even if they go out in the first round at the expense of the US, Algeria & Slovenia, will all be bigger than a Haye fight.

Then again, it's not like Wlad or Vitali are anywhere near the biggest stars in either Germany or the Ukraine. Again, in both those countries the footballers vastly overshadow them.

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Originally Posted by Fenster

Lennox Lewis beats Paul Gascoigne and Henry Cooper beats Bobby Charlton in the UK Google search, for what it's worth.

David Haye beats Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao beats them both, for what it's worth.

This is quite fun.

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take away the "UK Google search" and this is the single greatest thing ever posted in the history of this forum

;D;D;D

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

So let's just say Haye fighting Wladimir for the HW championship and ENgland in the world cup final. What would be bigger in the UK?

I'm seriously asking this question, because some posters have mentioned that Haye is the biggest sports star over there and I know soccer/football is a very popular sport there as well.

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It wouldn't even be debatable. Haye-fever lasts for a couple of days, maybe a week either side of the fight.

Our country cannot actually function without constant news on football. Even when there's no actual football being played, the sports pages are full of transfer stories & contracts extensions.

Any England game in the World Cup, even if they go out in the first round at the expense of the US, Algeria & Slovenia, will all be bigger than a Haye fight.

Then again, it's not like Wlad or Vitali are anywhere near the biggest stars in either Germany or the Ukraine. Again, in both those countries the footballers vastly overshadow them.

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I don't know, they are well popular. If you put them against the German national team then yes but against just the Bayern Munich's and Leverkusen's of the the world Wlad and Vitali get 10 million viewers in Germany per fight alone. I don't know how many viewers the domestic games get in Germany but 10 million is some going and if they get that for every Bayern game i'd be impressed.

They are very different sports as far as news as there is so much more to talk and write about in football. And there are a hell of a lot more pro's in the sport too. It is not really something you can compare.

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

I don't know, they are well popular. If you put them against the German national team then yes but against just the Bayern Munich's and Leverkusen's of the the world Wlad and Vitali get 10 million viewers in Germany per fight alone. I don't know how many viewers the domestic games get in Germany but 10 million is some going and if they get that for every Bayern game i'd be impressed.

They are very different sports as far as news as there is so much more to talk and write about in football. And there are a hell of a lot more pro's in the sport too. It is not really something you can compare.

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German football does fantastically on both attendance & viewing figures because it's all affordably priced. I heard the other day on the Lyon-Bayern second leg commentary that the first leg was watched by 12m people in Germany. Considering they aren't even the country's biggest club, that's pretty impressive.

Also if you can't compare it, it's probably best to avoid statements saying someone is 'the biggest sports star' in whatever country ;)

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

I don't know, they are well popular. If you put them against the German national team then yes but against just the Bayern Munich's and Leverkusen's of the the world Wlad and Vitali get 10 million viewers in Germany per fight alone. I don't know how many viewers the domestic games get in Germany but 10 million is some going and if they get that for every Bayern game i'd be impressed.

They are very different sports as far as news as there is so much more to talk and write about in football. And there are a hell of a lot more pro's in the sport too. It is not really something you can compare.

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German football does fantastically on both attendance & viewing figures because it's all affordably priced. I heard the other day on the Lyon-Bayern second leg commentary that the first leg was watched by 12m people in Germany. Considering they aren't even the country's biggest club, that's pretty impressive.

Also if you can't compare it, it's probably best to avoid statements saying someone is 'the biggest sports star' in whatever country ;)

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Sorry I'll retract my statement.

(Don't forget they are not German though ;) )

Comparing Football with boxing is a complete mismatch, but as individuals bigtime boxers are just as famous as footballers.

I would bet more non-sport fans recognise Haye over the likes of Lampard.

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Originally Posted by Fenster

Comparing Football with boxing is a complete mismatch, but as individuals bigtime boxers are just as famous as footballers.

I would bet more non-sport fans recognise Haye over the likes of Lampard.

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Kind of hard to miss Haye.

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Originally Posted by Fenster

Comparing Football with boxing is a complete mismatch, but as individuals bigtime boxers are just as famous as footballers.

I would bet more non-sport fans recognise Haye over the likes of Lampard.

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This is my point.

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

I don't know, they are well popular. If you put them against the German national team then yes but against just the Bayern Munich's and Leverkusen's of the the world Wlad and Vitali get 10 million viewers in Germany per fight alone. I don't know how many viewers the domestic games get in Germany but 10 million is some going and if they get that for every Bayern game i'd be impressed.

They are very different sports as far as news as there is so much more to talk and write about in football. And there are a hell of a lot more pro's in the sport too. It is not really something you can compare.

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German football does fantastically on both attendance & viewing figures because it's all affordably priced. I heard the other day on the Lyon-Bayern second leg commentary that the first leg was watched by 12m people in Germany. Considering they aren't even the country's biggest club, that's pretty impressive.

Also if you can't compare it, it's probably best to avoid statements saying someone is 'the biggest sports star' in whatever country ;)

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Sorry I'll retract my statement.

(Don't forget they are not German though ;) )

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Neither are the two most endorsed athletes in Germany right now, Arjen Robben & Edin Dzeko (I can feel people going 'who?')

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

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Originally Posted by rjj tszyu

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

German football does fantastically on both attendance & viewing figures because it's all affordably priced. I heard the other day on the Lyon-Bayern second leg commentary that the first leg was watched by 12m people in Germany. Considering they aren't even the country's biggest club, that's pretty impressive.

Also if you can't compare it, it's probably best to avoid statements saying someone is 'the biggest sports star' in whatever country ;)

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Sorry I'll retract my statement.

(Don't forget they are not German though ;) )

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Neither are the two most endorsed athletes in Germany right now, Arjen Robben & Edin Dzeko (I can feel people going 'who?')

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No but both Wolfsburg and Bayern are. Ronaldo is not as big here now he is not here.

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

So let's just say Haye fighting Wladimir for the HW championship and ENgland in the world cup final. What would be bigger in the UK?

I'm seriously asking this question, because some posters have mentioned that Haye is the biggest sports star over there and I know soccer/football is a very popular sport there as well.

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Whoever told you that were either:

a) drunk
b) on drugs
c) lying
d) all of the above.

Wayne Rooney is the biggest sports star in the UK. People who don't watch football would even know who he is and that can't be said about Haye if people arent interested in boxing.

Come on now we all no that audley Harrison is the biggest sports star from the uk.








Job biscuit (all u have to do is close ur eyes and u can see it)

I think Ali has to go down as the biggest and most famous sports star ever. I think some of that has to go down to what he did outside of the ring as much as what he achieved in it. His converting to Sunni Islam and subsequent name change, his refusal to fight in the vietnam war...etc...The list could go on. He's not just a sporting icon but an icon to those who don't follow boxing or sport in general.

I'm a huge football fan too and Pele is without doubt the biggest football player ever and comes a close 2nd to Ali for me. I don't think that really applies today though between boxing and football. There's no doubt players like Rooney, Terry, Gerrard and Lampard are bigger and more well known than someone like Haye. Lets not forget Haye could have walked down most streets in England two years ago and probably go unnoticed by most people.

Lets not forget that Haye only has a couple of fights a year so that will also increase interest as and when he does fight. If Man.U, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea only played football twice a year then I'm sure the figures would be higher than what Haye would ever get.

England in the World Cup Final would piss all over a Haye fight in terms of viewing and national interest. Football will always be the biggest sport in England and ultimately everything else comes 2nd.

On the Lewis-Gazza & Cooper - Charlton debate I have to say that Gazza and Charlton are more famous than either boxer. Again Gazza probably more so for his antics off the field than his anything else. Lewis was a lot less controversial and for that I think Gazza is probably more well known (difficult not to be bias here and say Lewis as he's one of my favourite boxers). Charlton is England's record goal scorer and won the World Cup. Not to mention he was in the Munich plane disaster so I think that alone makes him more famous. How many young people would really know who Cooper is? I think he's more a generation ago. A lot of older people would know our 'enry but I'm sure if you asked younger people they might ask, who? It's all subjective really and I'm just talking a load of bollocks!! :D

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Originally Posted by koppas

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

So let's just say Haye fighting Wladimir for the HW championship and ENgland in the world cup final. What would be bigger in the UK?

I'm seriously asking this question, because some posters have mentioned that Haye is the biggest sports star over there and I know soccer/football is a very popular sport there as well.

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Whoever told you that were either:

a) drunk
b) on drugs
c) lying
d) all of the above.

Wayne Rooney is the biggest sports star in the UK. People who don't watch football would even know who he is and that can't be said about Haye if people arent interested in boxing.

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I think this is probably true. It's also important to mention that until the Valuev fight virtually nobody outside the hardcore boxing fans had any idea who David Haye was.

I actually imagine Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe and Amir Khan are all still more famous than David Haye in terms of numbers of people who have heard of him.

But, I have to completely disagree with Jaz about Floyd and Manny being better known over here that's absurd.

When Haye beat Valuev he went on every chat show going. I don't recall Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquaio every going on the Jonathon Ross show or Alan Carrs' Chatty Man for that matter.

He's CLEARLY more well known in the UK than Floyd and Manny combined.

The under 25 sporty Londoners demographic is hardly a fair poll of the UK population as a whole.


Also General Bulldog and the Superbowl being bigger than Tyson Lewis. I really doubt it worldwide. I couldn't tell you who contested any of the superbowls of the last 100 years, I believe the San Francisco 49'ers are meant to good bu that's the limit of my knowledge, and I expect that holds true for most of Europe, Australia and Asia.

In all seriousness I imagine the world table tennis championships get more viewers than the superbowl seeing as that's all the Chinese ever seem to watch and they have about half the world population over there :D

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

Alan Carrs' Chatty Man

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Is that real? If so, that sounds so gay!

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Originally Posted by Chrislfc17

I think Ali has to go down as the biggest and most famous sports star ever. I think some of that has to go down to what he did outside of the ring as much as what he achieved in it. His converting to Sunni Islam and subsequent name change, his refusal to fight in the vietnam war...etc...The list could go on. He's not just a sporting icon but an icon to those who don't follow boxing or sport in general.

I'm a huge football fan too and Pele is without doubt the biggest football player ever and comes a close 2nd to Ali for me. I don't think that really applies today though between boxing and football. There's no doubt players like Rooney, Terry, Gerrard and Lampard are bigger and more well known than someone like Haye. Lets not forget Haye could have walked down most streets in England two years ago and probably go unnoticed by most people.

Lets not forget that Haye only has a couple of fights a year so that will also increase interest as and when he does fight. If Man.U, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea only played football twice a year then I'm sure the figures would be higher than what Haye would ever get.

England in the World Cup Final would piss all over a Haye fight in terms of viewing and national interest. Football will always be the biggest sport in England and ultimately everything else comes 2nd.

On the Lewis-Gazza & Cooper - Charlton debate I have to say that Gazza and Charlton are more famous than either boxer. Again Gazza probably more so for his antics off the field than his anything else. Lewis was a lot less controversial and for that I think Gazza is probably more well known (difficult not to be bias here and say Lewis as he's one of my favourite boxers). Charlton is England's record goal scorer and won the World Cup. Not to mention he was in the Munich plane disaster so I think that alone makes him more famous. How many young people would really know who Cooper is? I think he's more a generation ago. A lot of older people would know our 'enry but I'm sure if you asked younger people they might ask, who? It's all subjective really and I'm just talking a load of bollocks!! :D

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i have to agree,anyone who can sell the rights to their name for 50 million dollars has to be right up there







job biscuit (cheese is definately my favourite sandwich filling,it ranks right up their with tuna+mayo, god dam,how i love a good sandwich.QUOTE: luis collazo.2005)

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

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Originally Posted by koppas

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

So let's just say Haye fighting Wladimir for the HW championship and ENgland in the world cup final. What would be bigger in the UK?

I'm seriously asking this question, because some posters have mentioned that Haye is the biggest sports star over there and I know soccer/football is a very popular sport there as well.

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Whoever told you that were either:

a) drunk
b) on drugs
c) lying
d) all of the above.

Wayne Rooney is the biggest sports star in the UK. People who don't watch football would even know who he is and that can't be said about Haye if people arent interested in boxing.

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I think this is probably true. It's also important to mention that until the Valuev fight virtually nobody outside the hardcore boxing fans had any idea who David Haye was.

I actually imagine Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe and Amir Khan are all still more famous than David Haye in terms of numbers of people who have heard of him.

But, I have to completely disagree with Jaz about Floyd and Manny being better known over here that's absurd.

When Haye beat Valuev he went on every chat show going. I don't recall Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquaio every going on the Jonathon Ross show or Alan Carrs' Chatty Man for that matter.

He's CLEARLY more well known in the UK than Floyd and Manny combined.

The under 25 sporty Londoners demographic is hardly a fair poll of the UK population as a whole.


Also General Bulldog and the Superbowl being bigger than Tyson Lewis. I really doubt it worldwide. I couldn't tell you who contested any of the superbowls of the last 100 years, I believe the San Francisco 49'ers are meant to good bu that's the limit of my knowledge, and I expect that holds true for most of Europe, Australia and Asia.

In all seriousness I imagine the world table tennis championships get more viewers than the superbowl seeing as that's all the Chinese ever seem to watch and they have about half the world population over there :D

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Read my post again. It was first a response for the HW championship being the most prized sport possession. Most Americans don't care for the HW championship for decades already. And the rest of the world probably don't care for it compared to lets say their country winning the World Cup in soccer. So overall the HW championship in boxing has lost it's considerable luster worldwide.

Sure Americans love to see a good HW fight, but it being the most prized possession? Not anymore. And rjjtszyu asked if the Tyson-Lewis fight was bigger or more well known than say the Superbowl in '02 in America. The key words being in America. And I said no. The Superbowl has been the most watched event in America for about 4 decades already. Again in AMerica, because someone asked our perception of the Lewis-Tyson fight and compared it to the Superbowl that year.