Why was Mike Tyson so popular?

[SugarBoxing]

We never really ever knew why, huh?

We knew why Ali was popular- he was mouthy, political, Muslim and he stood for something. He also backed up his talks in the ring.

We knew why Joe Louis was popular- war veteran, string of undefeated title defences, defeated Nazi Germany via Schmeling, etc, etc...

But, there were a lot of guys that were champions before and after Tyson who we, quite frankly, could give a fuck about in the grand scheme of things- and we mean Lewis, the Klits, Holyfield, and Bowe.

So, what in the world made Tyson such a mega star and still revered and talked about to this day, despite all of what he has done and gone through?

Do not confuse popularity and general fame.

We knew why Ali was popular- he was mouthy, political, Muslim and he stood for something. He also backed up his talks in the ring.

in 70, Ali was like Mayweather now: 50% people loved him, 50% people hated him. But he was very famous.

Going back to your question...

Mike is like Jonny Tapia, HUGE talent, way beyoed Lennox, Klits, and Holyfeild, he brings drama and such.

Lennox, Klits, Holyfield are kinda predictable. With Mike you never know what to expect
Also, at a certain time, everybody hoped the 86-88 era MIke would come back and KICK ASS.

I would still go watch him fight for this feeling of "Maybe, this time he returns ..."