I think you'd be surprised. People might not watch them fight, but I think they've both embedded into the public consciousness as boxers. Part of that may be the name. I'm seeing a lot more excitement for the Mayweather fight this weekend than there was for Haye-Ruiz or even Haye-Valuev. I'm not saying the PPV would do better, but that they have more name recognition with the average person.
Difference is my mum and Grandma both know who David Haye is. I know they don't know who Kevin Pietersen, Johnny Wilkinson and Floyd Mayweather are. Even Rio Ferdinand says that Haye is the biggest named sports star in the country.
Only one I think challenges him is Rooney. Also maybe Ricky Hatton, his support is amazing. Man utd couldn't take as many fans to Vegas as he does and there is a full team of them. If Haye keeps bowling them over like he is he'll have the same support if not better because he is in the glamour division of boxing and he is exciting to watch.
That will be the first HW fight i've honestly really looked forward to in at least the last 3 or 4 years..
~ He thinks he's a Tornado,,,... F'ckn real Tornado is comin'...! ~Hidden Content
Sorry he's just nowhere near the likes of Rooney, Gerrard & Terry. I'd argue that both Flintoff & Wilkinson are also both ahead of him. It may be that your mum & nan know who Haye is through you being a fan and going to his fights. My mum needs reminding about who David Haye is despite the fact I've told her a number of times that he even came from the same gym as me. On the other hand, she'd know Floyd Mayweather & Shane Mosley are instantly because when I was growing up I was such a big fan of both of them.
Just generally with people I've met in the area I live in (South London, Haye's own area) Mayweather definitely has a quicker recognition factor, maybe because he's got a more individual name.
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.
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.
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.
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
Last edited by rjj tszyu; 04-30-2010 at 02:31 PM.
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
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.
Last edited by rjj tszyu; 04-30-2010 at 02:49 PM.
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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