Who's More Famous?

[mgoblue]

Re: Who's More Famous?

I would say Hogan's prime was the 5 years prior to moving to WCW.

There was a late 90's resurgence, but nothing like Hogan's prime...WWF vs. WCW in the late 90's (Raw vs. Nitro, NWO, etc) was pretty big. Wrestling hasn't had that type of spotlight since.

[SPTO]

Re: Who's More Famous?

I would say Hogan's prime was the 5 years prior to moving to WCW.

His last match in WWF/E was in '93. He didn't arrive in WCW til '94. So if we take that into acount you're saying Hogan's prime was '89-93 which is pretty crazy because that was the time period people were starting to get tired of the whole "Hulkamania" act.

His true prime was '84-88 then the resurgence with NWO in the late '90s which probably gave him even more exposure then he ever had. Going back to the '84-88 time frame however you have to realize that Hogan more or less carried the WWF National Expansion. Hell, the first Wrestlemania in '85 was a make it or break it proposition. If WM1 had failed the WWF would still mainly be a Northeast based promotion with very little penetration outside of perhaps Toronto. There would definitely be a WCW around today that's for sure.

Hogan more or less carried the torch of the Rock n' Wrestling Connection and was the main reason along with McMahon for making wrestling from a pseudo sports presentation to the Sports Entertainment we know of today.

[RoyalBoyle78]

Re: Who's More Famous?

Hogan, no doubt...I really don't think it's close.

[pk500]

Re: Who's More Famous?

It's pretty simple: Hulk Hogan is synonymous with wrestling. Mike Tyson is not synonymous with boxing.

Ask anyone who's not a wrestling fan to name a wrestler, and 90 percent will say Hulk Hogan. Ask anyone who's not a boxing fan to name a boxer, and 90 percent will not say Mike Tyson. You'll hear Ali, Frazier, De La Hoya, Mayweather, Leonard, etc., etc., along with Tyson.

Hogan also has become much more of an mainstream entertainment personality through his movies and TV show than Tyson ever was or will be.

Take care,
PK

[CMH]

Re: Who's More Famous?

I think it's pretty fair to say that people across the world know who Hulk Hogan is. He wasn't just a wrestling icon. He was a world icon.

Mike Tyson is probably only familiar to those that watched boxing or followed American celebrity antics - something which people outside of America don't really care to follow.

[Rocky]

Re: Who's More Famous?

I guess you forgot the Steroid scandal in 1993. He and Vince McMahon's names were all over the news! Hogan has also been a guest on Larry King Live multiple times and is also the only wrestler to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

That's the thing thougjh. How many times was Tyson on the cover of SI? What about Time? And let's not even get to newspapers and television. Hulk Hogan was about as mainstream as a wrestler could get but is that really bigger than a BOXER the magnitude of Tyson. It wasn't until he was completely washed up until he stopped making FRONT PAGE news and selling out PPV's. You think actors, rock stars, governors, and senators were going to a Hogan match at the twilight of his career?

Soldier said it best though, neither is by far more popular than the other.

[The Chef]

Re: Who's More Famous?

Personally I think Hogan is more famous then Tyson, ask anyone to name a wrestler and I would venture that more times then not they would name Hogan, his very name is synonymous with wrestling. When it comes to boxing I would name Ali without even thinking twice, to me Hogan has hung around in some facet for so long that he has to be more famous by now, besides Tysons recent arrest on cocaine possession I dont remember him doing much at all recently, where as Hogan has still figured out a way to keep his name relevant thanks to hosting the American Gladiators starting next month.

[pk500]

Re: Who's More Famous?

I think it's pretty fair to say that people across the world know who Hulk Hogan is. He wasn't just a wrestling icon. He was a world icon.

Mike Tyson is probably only familiar to those that watched boxing or followed American celebrity antics - something which people outside of America don't really care to follow.

I'll beg to differ with that. At his peak, Tyson was the biggest sporting icon on the planet, bigger than Jordan. When Tyson lost to Buster Douglas in Tokyo, that was the biggest sporting upset in generations. HUGE. I watched the fight live, and it was one of the few moments ever that I was absolutely SHOCKED by the result of a sporting event. It was one of those rare moments when you knew you were seeing true history from a sporting perspective.

Guys who weren't teens or adults in the 80s don't realize that Tyson was seen as invincible, a terminator, the closest thing to a real-life Ivan Drago ever in the ring. Watch some of his knockouts on YouTube. He didn't knock guys out; he damn near killed them.

Tyson's heavyweight title defenses were worldwide events, contests that halted the sporting world for a night so everyone could watch or at least pay attention to coverage. The late 80s were an era before satellite TV, 500 cable channels and the Internet, so sporting events could stop time, something that's pretty much impossible now. No one could cause the world to pause and watch in sports during the mid- and late 80s like Tyson.

The ear-biting incident with Holyfield also was a moment of insanity and infamy that was known worldwide, bigger than anything Hogan ever has done.

Problem is, Tyson really hasn't been relevant in this decade. When is the last time he fought a meaningful bout? When is the last time he was even considered competitive?

Meanwhile, Hogan has stayed on the front burner through his movies and TV shows.

At their respective peaks, Tyson was bigger than Hogan. I think there's little doubt about that. But Hogan's popularity arc has stayed flatter and higher than Tyson's because the Hulkster has remained in the spotlight for 25 years and still is relevant in pop culture. Tyson had about 10 to 15 years of worldwide popularity, and then his star began its meteoric burnout toward Earth. He's a B- or C-grade celebrity at best these days, destined to star in a VH-1 reality show with Jose Canseco, Janice Dickinson and Christopher Knight of "Brady Bunch" fame.

Take care,
PK

[EWRMETS]

Re: Who's More Famous?

Tyson/Lennox Lewis drew 1.95 million PPV buys in 2002. Has any Hogan PPV drew that much? Not even close.

[pk500]

Re: Who's More Famous?

Want to see how scary Tyson was in his prime? Check out this story and find the clips for 10 KO's on YouTube:

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=13775&more=1

Take care,
PK

[SPTO]

Re: Who's More Famous?

Want to see how scary Tyson was in his prime? Check out this story and find the clips for 10 KO's on YouTube:

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=13775&more=1

Take care,
PK

PK you're old enough to know this more then most people here but back in Tyson's prime the boxing media even hyped him up as a student of the game! I had an old VHS tape and there was a segment with Tyson next to a movie projector and watching the old fighters and giving analysis!

I don't know how fabricated it was but he was very eloquent and smart about the history of boxing and everything. Also in regards to his boxing skills in his prime....I remember hearing people say that Tyson would've given Ali in his prime one helluva fight and possibly even winning.

It's kinda sad how everything slowly went down the toilet for him personally after Cus D'Amato died. I don't think Cus would've let fame get to Tyson the way his other backers did.

[jdros13]

Re: Who's More Famous?

As PK said, there is absolutely no question that Tyson was the biggest sports celebrity in the world, bar none, between for about a 4 or 5 year period 86-90...probably longer than that actually. I lived in England from 85-88 (I was 10 when we moved to the UK) and I know that to me, he was by far the biggest, baddest thing on the planet. Back then, ABC's Wide World of Sports still existed, and carried relevant programming over the air as well. I remember being at the NJ shore during the summer, as we had come back to the states for a couple of weeks for vacation, and I left the beach to walk home and watch Mike Tyson absolutely destroy Marvis Frazier on National TV in the middle of the afternoon. I was either 10 or 11 at the time.

I am nearly certain that from that point on I saw every Tyson fight on television...while living in the UK and having only 4 channels on the TV. I remember the hype surrounding his march towards unifying the Heavyweight crown, and the absolute fear he seemed to instill in all his opponents.

During this time he also married Robin Givens, who was a reasonably popular actress and was appearing on interviews with the likes of Barbara Walters. Then when you had the whole trial / prison / comeback phase, the guy was global news....not just sports news but news news.

What is really amazing to me after reading through these comments is to see just how far boxing has fallen off the sporting landscape. Boxing is just so different today...every fight is on a pay channel or PPV, and there really isn't a dynamic personality in the heavyweight division. I am by no means a boxing historian, but I want to be a casual fan and just can't find a compelling reason to be one.

I was a big wrestling fan before I moved to the UK, but I can tell you from experience that no one over there knew who the hell Hulk Hogan or any of the wrestlers were during the 80's. I'm guessing that wrestling is more global now, but I really think that some of you are completely over-estimating the global appeal of the WWE.

Both are very famous, but at their peaks the most famous active athletes (not counting Ali, and others whose careers were over) in my lifetime were probably (in no particular order) Tyson, Tiger and Jordan. That this many people are not only entertaining the thought that Hogan is more famous, but are saying it isn't even up for discussion just shows how far Tyson's star has fallen and also how boxing has completely lost it's position in the american sporting landscape.

[TimmeH]

Re: Who's More Famous?

Tyson/Lennox Lewis drew 1.95 million PPV buys in 2002. Has any Hogan PPV drew that much? Not even close.

Actually, Wrestlemania III which was headlined by Hogan vs. Andre is estimated at getting over 4 million buys.



I guess it depends on your definition of famous. Tyson finds his way into the mainstream world much more often due to all of his shortcomings. Hogan is probably seen in a brighter light than Tyson, but Tyson is more mainstream famous

[pk500]

Re: Who's More Famous?

As PK said, there is absolutely no question that Tyson was the biggest sports celebrity in the world, bar none, between for about a 4 or 5 year period 86-90...probably longer than that actually. I lived in England from 85-88 (I was 10 when we moved to the UK) and I know that to me, he was by far the biggest, baddest thing on the planet. Back then, ABC's Wide World of Sports still existed, and carried relevant programming over the air as well. I remember being at the NJ shore during the summer, as we had come back to the states for a couple of weeks for vacation, and I left the beach to walk home and watch Mike Tyson absolutely destroy Marvis Frazier on National TV in the middle of the afternoon. I was either 10 or 11 at the time.

I am nearly certain that from that point on I saw every Tyson fight on television...while living in the UK and having only 4 channels on the TV. I remember the hype surrounding his march towards unifying the Heavyweight crown, and the absolute fear he seemed to instill in all his opponents.

During this time he also married Robin Givens, who was a reasonably popular actress and was appearing on interviews with the likes of Barbara Walters. Then when you had the whole trial / prison / comeback phase, the guy was global news....not just sports news but news news.

What is really amazing to me after reading through these comments is to see just how far boxing has fallen off the sporting landscape. Boxing is just so different today...every fight is on a pay channel or PPV, and there really isn't a dynamic personality in the heavyweight division. I am by no means a boxing historian, but I want to be a casual fan and just can't find a compelling reason to be one.

I was a big wrestling fan before I moved to the UK, but I can tell you from experience that no one over there knew who the hell Hulk Hogan or any of the wrestlers were during the 80's. I'm guessing that wrestling is more global now, but I really think that some of you are completely over-estimating the global appeal of the WWE.

Both are very famous, but at their peaks the most famous active athletes (not counting Ali, and others whose careers were over) in my lifetime were probably (in no particular order) Tyson, Tiger and Jordan. That this many people are not only entertaining the thought that Hogan is more famous, but are saying it isn't even up for discussion just shows how far Tyson's star has fallen and also how boxing has completely lost it's position in the american sporting landscape.

Very well said, on all accounts.

I still LOVE boxing, but sadly it has lost footing in its place in American sport.

Take care,
PK