Long ago, I had a pal, non-boxing fan, but Boxing was red hot right then and attracting loads of casual fans.
Sugar Ray Leonard had just boxed Marvelous Marvin Hagler in '87, World Champ Iron Mike Tyson was in his prime and fighting every few months unifying Titles in '87 and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and highlights of his fights played on various sports shows and even regular news shows.
My pal says, "Hey, why doesn't that Sugar Ray guy fight Mike Tyson, that Sugar Ray was pretty good!"