Who's the Michael Jordan equivalent of boxing?

[mozfonky]

Accurate post, NL. I never was a basket ball guy, I mean I enjoy a game here and there, it is exciting, but Im just not a team sport kinda person... but those 6 rings Jordan led his team to meant something to every Chicagoan even if they act like they're too cool for the game.

MJ spoiled this city ROTTEN. Growing up in Chicago, I was under the illusion as a kid the NBA was built around the story of the Bulls, and Chicago was the center of the universe. The entire world sang MJs praises, and all my friends repped a Bulls jersey, everyone from Pippen to Kukoch if it wasn't a 23 jersey, that is. That, or a Walter Payton jersey.

mj also let a lot of people get killed over some silly sneakers and never had the decency to say anything did he? that says alot about him. He's not alone, like i said, Tiger Woods, delahoya all superstars of a generation where there is no sense of anything bigger than themselves.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

to my knowledge, soccer is a much bigger worldwide sport than basket ball, and even in ali's era people were saying pele was more popular than ali worldwide. And you are really just bolstering my point calling Jordan a "brand" in Ali's time such a concept would be seen as an insult, not that people didn't do it, colonel tom parker called Elvis presley a "product" but not without people thinking it was crass. And Jordan had no presence, no social conscience he was as vacuous as a good "brand" should be, there was nothing revolutionary or threatening or compelling about him off court. And for those of you who tell me to stay in my lane, yes, i know jordan has fans, i'm just speaking for myself and those of us like me who are sort of old school, and there are many of us, one article said he had the social conscience of a potato, sounds about right. I loved the story about Wilt shutting Mike down by ending an arguement about who's greater by saying "they changed the rules to make it harder for me and they changed them to make it easier for you". Great athlete, no doubt, from everything i've read, he had as great a champions mentality as anyone but just a different man, boxers in that era and today are different than they were before too, people have changed----alot. And Roy Jones had the athleticism and maybe if he'd aged as well as Jordan or ali or robinson, people would remember him more highly. Tyson was the guy, his contemporary who really should have been an equal and looked like he would until he lost to douglas, givens and washington.

I think Jordan as a household name is way bigger than any boxer outside of Muhammad Ali. There is a reason people ask "who is the Michael Jordan of (insert whatever category)?" You can even google it, because it is a highly considered and searched standard. Try that same search criteria with any boxer, and you won't find it.

Matter of fact, Why don't we conduct a survey. Ask 20 people at random on the street across multiple cities local to you if they know who Michael Jordan is based on showing them a photo? Allow the age ranges, genders, and backgrounds to be varied. Then ask the same for a select list of boxers. Show them a picture, and ask them who is that in the picture. Does anyone have ideas for boxers I can use? Muhammad Ali is one. Any more you guys can think of?

 

[borntoloseNOT]

mj also let a lot of people get killed over some silly sneakers and never had the decency to say anything did he? that says alot about him. He's not alone, like i said, Tiger Woods, delahoya all superstars of a generation where there is no sense of anything bigger than themselves.

Yeah, he put the guns right in their hands. Some people kill one another over cars too, and yet the auto industry remains silent.

 

[mozfonky]

Yeah, he put the guns right in their hands. Some people kill one another over cars too, and yet the auto industry remains silent.

ok, if that's not good enough for you what about all the other shit he did that marks him as just a selfish prick? someone said he made it harder for basket ball players to get into the business side of things, he's done lots of those things, how many do you need? look them up online, it's not just me saying this shit. And while we're at it, let's throw the ali in his fifties into this too, he totally changed as an old man and wouldn't say anything about the iraq war because he was worried about his business'. What and why that happened, whether it was just a tired old man speaking or not, i don't know but at least he did more than enough when he was young and full of fire.

 

[mozfonky]

I think Jordan as a household name is way bigger than any boxer outside of Muhammad Ali. There is a reason people ask "who is the Michael Jordan of (insert whatever category)?" You can even google it, because it is a highly considered and searched standard. Try that same search criteria with any boxer, and you won't find it.

Matter of fact, Why don't we conduct a survey. Ask 20 people at random on the street across multiple cities local to you if they know who Michael Jordan is based on showing them a photo? Allow the age ranges, genders, and backgrounds to be varied. Then ask the same for a select list of boxers. Show them a picture, and ask them who is that in the picture. Does anyone have ideas for boxers I can use? Muhammad Ali is one. Any more you guys can think of?

i'm not asking no freaks on the streets shit, i gave a guy a pizza the other day, just trying to be nice and he asked to suck my dick, i'm in a nutty city, you go ask forty for my portion.

 

[nastyleft]

to my knowledge, soccer is a much bigger worldwide sport than basket ball, and even in ali's era people were saying pele was more popular than ali worldwide. And you are really just bolstering my point calling Jordan a "brand" in Ali's time such a concept would be seen as an insult, not that people didn't do it, colonel tom parker called Elvis presley a "product" but not without people thinking it was crass. And Jordan had no presence, no social conscience he was as vacuous as a good "brand" should be, there was nothing revolutionary or threatening or compelling about him off court. .

This isn't about if Soccer is more popular than Basketball. This is about Basketball being a global sport, typically only exceeded by soccer in most countries where Soccer is #1. I don't think you understand what you're talking about when it comes to the Jordan Brand. This isn't a romanticized conceptual euphamism for a great player, the Jordan Brand is a real global business. A business that Muhammad Ali definitely would NOT see as an insult, nor anyone else for that matter.

Jordan Brand, a Nike subsidiary born out of his original sneaker deal in 1984, is a dominant force in the sneaker and sport apparel business worldwide. Jordan Brand is a spin off company/brand from Nike Basketball. I believe they formed Jordan Brand in 1996-97 after substantial growth of the Air Jordan line. Jordan Brand has surpassed Nike Basketball in terms of basketball shoe market share. ... Air Jordan is the other brand.
Air Jordan is a brand of basketball shoes and athletic clothing produced by Nike
The Jordan brand sponsors 21 active NBA players, including Jimmy Butler, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. They also endorse Nike Air Jordan products. Also they sponsor other leagues such as the MLB, NFL, NASCAR, WNBA, as well as French football team Paris Saint-Germain. In September 2018, French football team, Paris St. Germain, unveiled a third kit featuring the Air Jordan (The Jumpman logo) logo on chest. The "Jumpman" logo is owned by Nike to promote the Air Jordan brand of basketball sneakers and other sportswear. The logo is a silhouette of Michael Jordan performing a slam dunk

The silhouette of Michael Jordan served as inspiration to create the "Jumpman" logo.

Product type Footwear, clothing
Country United States
Introduced November 17, 1984; 33 years ago[a]
Markets Worldwide
Website Air Jordan at Nike

1) The Company sponsors multiple sports teams and leagues globally.
2) It's a major marketshare player in the sneaker and apparel space globally.
3) Jordan still makes $100 million a year on his deal signed in 1984.
4) He's the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team acquired by his ownership income from the COMPANY and BRAND that bears his name (The Jordan Brand and Air Jordan).
5) And he's the wealthiest former athlete in the history of all sports with a net wealth of $1 Billion dollars.
6) Everyone worldwide that wears his gear, knows exactly who Michael Jordan is...
ALL those facts (1-5) are unprecedented in the history of sports, for ANY athlete past or present.
And you say there's nothing compelling or revolutionary about him outside of playing the game?

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

There's never been a Michael Jordan of boxing IMO, though an argument could be made for Roy. Roy was the first boxer to be signed by Jordan, Ward was the second, and Golovkin became the latest when he was signed in 2016. Jordan gear has been around since '84 and is still kicking. I went through the Starter phase growing up then switched over to Jordan apparel and never looked back.

The Jordan Brand isn't international? It's worldwide from footwear to headbands and hats to cologne. I have a closet full of Jordan gear. It's absolutely a global brand and surely part of the reason Golovkin was recently signed to expand their presence in Central Asia & Eastern Europe. Loma always wears Jordan apparel because it's his favorite brand. I've seen him wearing it since he was an Olympian. He's not getting paid a cent to do it. Here's the Jumpman logo on a blue & gold colored hat to represent the flag of Ukraine (Jordan Brand international department).

Ward gets texts from MJ and they chat every once in a while and have been since before the first Kovalev fight (@ 1:20 in the vid).

Andre Ward Says Michael Jordan Texted Me ... How Cool Is That!?

 

[mozfonky]

i'm gonna ignore what you say here just like you ignore what I said, a "brand" attached to a person is a large part of what is wrong with the Jordan enterprise. And you're the one who brought up basketball being a global sport, well, if you're gonna do that, i have to point out to you that it isn't THE global sport, I don't think any american sport is as big as soccer, correct me if I'm wrong. as for Ali and branding, it was a different era and he did try branding but I do believe his reps were told point blank they didn't want to be involved with a black sports star, i'd have to go back to the hauser book to find the specifics of it, but ali did in fact have plans for a brand with the logo of butterfly and bee, then Alis' penchant for catering to the losers around him, something which hurt him throughout his life, came back once again to bite him in the ass. Bundini, the no good loser who'd sell his own mom out for a buck threatened to sue over the logo unless he got a cut, those and other problems made it hard for ali, and this wasn't that much before the jordan era, about 78 when ali's reps and lawyers were doing their best to build up a way for him to never have to fight again. Even then, race was an issue, if it wasn't having a black man as a pitchman, it was that they didn't want black people coming into their stores. Now, i don't expect that to matter to white fans, white journalists but I would think it should matter to a black athlete. Especially in a country with a history where one little slip up and you're thrown away, look at cosby, i know that's a bit more than a slipup, more like a pratfall but look how quickly and efficiently they put his ass out and watch how much money they'll take of his before the whole case is done. The same can happen to Jordan and he's naive if he thinks otherwise, look what happened to Tiger.
EDIT: if the question is has there been a boxer with the branding power of Jordan, of course not, that's a dumb question, if that's the question then you all are right and I am wrong. if the question is have there been other fighters as dominant and spectacular? Ya, a few, Ali would be one, Robinson would be another, maybe Hagler (although he might not be aesthetic enough to compare to Jordan) , Others who might be pretty popular but not quite as dominant or superhuman seeming like delahoya, Chavez, roy jones, and then we have the workman champs who are great but boring like holmes, that strawweight guy Lopez, Hopkins, guys that quietly build legacies but aren't the stars of some of these other guys. hard to compare sports. but.., definitely ali and robinson (leonard and tyson could have fit the bill on a physical and fame basis but it was not to be).

This isn't about if Soccer is more popular than Basketball. This is about Basketball being a global sport, typically only exceeded by soccer in most countries where Soccer is #1. I don't think you understand what you're talking about when it comes to the Jordan Brand. This isn't a romanticized conceptual euphamism for a great player, the Jordan Brand is a real global business. A business that Muhammad Ali definitely would NOT see as an insult, nor anyone else for that matter.

Jordan Brand, a Nike subsidiary born out of his original sneaker deal in 1984, is a dominant force in the sneaker and sport apparel business worldwide. Jordan Brand is a spin off company/brand from Nike Basketball. I believe they formed Jordan Brand in 1996-97 after substantial growth of the Air Jordan line. Jordan Brand has surpassed Nike Basketball in terms of basketball shoe market share. ... Air Jordan is the other brand.
Air Jordan is a brand of basketball shoes and athletic clothing produced by Nike
The Jordan brand sponsors 21 active NBA players, including Jimmy Butler, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. They also endorse Nike Air Jordan products. Also they sponsor other leagues such as the MLB, NFL, NASCAR, WNBA, as well as French football team Paris Saint-Germain. In September 2018, French football team, Paris St. Germain, unveiled a third kit featuring the Air Jordan (The Jumpman logo) logo on chest. The "Jumpman" logo is owned by Nike to promote the Air Jordan brand of basketball sneakers and other sportswear. The logo is a silhouette of Michael Jordan performing a slam dunk

The silhouette of Michael Jordan served as inspiration to create the "Jumpman" logo.

Product type Footwear, clothing
Country United States
Introduced November 17, 1984; 33 years ago[a]
Markets Worldwide
Website Air Jordan at Nike

1) The Company sponsors multiple sports teams and leagues globally.
2) It's a major marketshare player in the seaker and apparel space globally.
3) Jordan still makes $100 million a year on his deal signed in 1984.
4) He's the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team acquired by his ownership income from the COMPANY and BRAND that bears his name (The Jordan Brand and Air Jordan).
5) And he's the wealthiest former athlete in the history of all sports with a net wealth of $1 Billion dollars.
6) Everyone worldwide that wears his gear, knows exactly who Michael Jordan is...
ALL those facts (1-5) are unprecedented in the history of sports, for ANY athlete past or present.
And you say there's nothing compelling or revolutionary about him outside of playing the game?

 

[nastyleft]

i'm gonna ignore what you say here just like you ignore what I said, a "brand" attached to a person is a large part of what is wrong with the Jordan enterprise. And you're the one who brought up basketball being a global sport, well, if you're gonna do that, i have to point out to you that it isn't THE global sport, I don't think any american sport is as big as soccer, correct me if I'm wrong. as for Ali and branding, it was a different era and he did try branding but I do believe his reps were told point blank they didn't want to be involved with a black sports star, i'd have to go back to the hauser book to find the specifics of it, but ali did in fact have plans for a brand with the logo of butterfly and bee, then Alis' penchant for catering to the losers around him, something which hurt him throughout his life, came back once again to bite him in the ass. Bundini, the no good loser who'd sell his own mom out for a buck threatened to sue over the logo unless he got a cut, those and other problems made it hard for ali, and this wasn't that much before the jordan era, about 78 when ali's reps and lawyers were doing their best to build up a way for him to never have to fight again. Even then, race was an issue, if it wasn't having a black man as a pitchman, it was that they didn't want black people coming into their stores. Now, i don't expect that to matter to white fans, white journalists but I would think it should matter to a black athlete. Especially in a country with a history where one little slip up and you're thrown away, look at cosby, i know that's a bit more than a slipup, more like a pratfall but look how quickly and efficiently they put his ass out and watch how much money they'll take of his before the whole case is done. The same can happen to Jordan and he's naive if he thinks otherwise, look what happened to Tiger.

NOPE, Michael Jordan OWNS 90% of Air Jordan. The company, Air Jordan, is it's own brand bud, not Michael.
Tiger Woods is merely SPONSORED by Nike and Nike never abandoned Tiger anyways, you're just grabbing at straws at this point.

 

[BillytheFish]

how do you know that? he fought in zaire and i'm sure they still talk about him there. it's been 40 years since his prime so i don't know how well known he is worldwide anymore but there was a time when he was possible the most recognizable face on the planet. jordan is just a basketball player, not a world figure in that way.

did you misread my post?

 

[mozfonky]

NOPE, Michael Jordan OWNS 90% of Air Jordan. The company, Air Jordan, is it's own brand bud, not Michael.
Tiger Woods is merely SPONSORED by Nike and Nike never abandoned Tiger anyways, you're just grabbing at straws at this point.

who cares who owns it? jesus, you guys love michael don't you, well that's ok i guess. grabbing at straws? since when was that the point, the criteria, i think it's blatantly obvious boxers have never been good at endorsement for a ton of reasons there fore obviously, they aren't going to be a good "brand" even the ones like sugar ray eventually have some kind of issue like wife beating that comes out, the simple answer is no, but you guys keep switching things up just to make yourselves feel righteous.

 

[mozfonky]

did you misread my post?

I don't know, didn't you say something about Ali not being popular in africa? Ali was a world figure, he was famous in africa by 65, they say that on a trip there, he was stupefied by how much the people would know him and call his name and it's really when his consciousness went to another level. Whether he's still known in the recent times I don't know, but I always ask people from other countries if they know some of the american cultural icons, Michael Jackson is of course as universal as they get, Ali always gets a yes, I never ask about michael jordan but I would expect that some of the paki's and hindi's wouldn't have a clue and neither would a lot of the asians, I've never asked.

 

[BillytheFish]

I don't know, didn't you say something about Ali not being popular in africa? Ali was a world figure, he was famous in africa by 65, they say that on a trip there, he was stupefied by how much the people would know him and call his name and it's really when his consciousness went to another level. Whether he's still known in the recent times I don't know, but I always ask people from other countries if they know some of the american cultural icons, Michael Jackson is of course as universal as they get, Ali always gets a yes, I never ask about michael jordan but I would expect that some of the paki's and hindi's wouldn't have a clue and neither would a lot of the asians, I've never asked.

no- i am saying he was and is popular in africa. re-read my post.

 

[nastyleft]

who cares who owns it? jesus, you guys love michael don't you, well that's ok i guess. grabbing at straws? since when was that the point, the criteria, i think it's blatantly obvious boxers have never been good at endorsement for a ton of reasons there fore obviously, they aren't going to be a good "brand" even the ones like sugar ray eventually have some kind of issue like wife beating that comes out, the simple answer is no, but you guys keep switching things up just to make yourselves feel righteous.

Give it a rest dude. It's not about who loves whom, Im a fan of both. If I saw that Ali was and had the evidence of that I'd be on the other side. Stop playing the bias card.
If you think Ali is more known around the world, that's fine, regardless of all the facts I gave supporting the many reasons why Jordan would be moreso at this point. Im not trying to change your opinion, I could care less about that.
So now bad self endorsement is your excuse? Well common sense means good endorsement results in greater notoriety, no? Jordan has plenty of that.
And that's the point of the discussion we've been having.
Unless you can clearly convey how Ali would be more known around the world than Jordan with real concrete examples, I suggest you just leave it alone and move on.

 

[mozfonky]

You move on its a dumb ass question to begin with and you don't seem to know what criteria to use you are just hero worshipping

 

[mozfonky]

Speaking of facts are there stats measuring fame out there

 

[mozfonky]

I just looked two polls had Ali in the top ten one had Jordan at 23 the other at 54 hope it doesn't ruin your night.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

i'm not asking no freaks on the streets shit, i gave a guy a pizza the other day, just trying to be nice and he asked to suck my dick, i'm in a nutty city, you go ask forty for my portion.

Lol alright

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

This isn't about if Soccer is more popular than Basketball. This is about Basketball being a global sport, typically only exceeded by soccer in most countries where Soccer is #1. I don't think you understand what you're talking about when it comes to the Jordan Brand. This isn't a romanticized conceptual euphamism for a great player, the Jordan Brand is a real global business. A business that Muhammad Ali definitely would NOT see as an insult, nor anyone else for that matter.

Jordan Brand, a Nike subsidiary born out of his original sneaker deal in 1984, is a dominant force in the sneaker and sport apparel business worldwide. Jordan Brand is a spin off company/brand from Nike Basketball. I believe they formed Jordan Brand in 1996-97 after substantial growth of the Air Jordan line. Jordan Brand has surpassed Nike Basketball in terms of basketball shoe market share. ... Air Jordan is the other brand.
Air Jordan is a brand of basketball shoes and athletic clothing produced by Nike
The Jordan brand sponsors 21 active NBA players, including Jimmy Butler, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. They also endorse Nike Air Jordan products. Also they sponsor other leagues such as the MLB, NFL, NASCAR, WNBA, as well as French football team Paris Saint-Germain. In September 2018, French football team, Paris St. Germain, unveiled a third kit featuring the Air Jordan (The Jumpman logo) logo on chest. The "Jumpman" logo is owned by Nike to promote the Air Jordan brand of basketball sneakers and other sportswear. The logo is a silhouette of Michael Jordan performing a slam dunk

The silhouette of Michael Jordan served as inspiration to create the "Jumpman" logo.

Product type Footwear, clothing
Country United States
Introduced November 17, 1984; 33 years ago[a]
Markets Worldwide
Website Air Jordan at Nike

1) The Company sponsors multiple sports teams and leagues globally.
2) It's a major marketshare player in the seaker and apparel space globally.
3) Jordan still makes $100 million a year on his deal signed in 1984.
4) He's the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team acquired by his ownership income from the COMPANY and BRAND that bears his name (The Jordan Brand and Air Jordan).
5) And he's the wealthiest former athlete in the history of all sports with a net wealth of $1 Billion dollars.
6) Everyone worldwide that wears his gear, knows exactly who Michael Jordan is...
ALL those facts (1-5) are unprecedented in the history of sports, for ANY athlete past or present.
And you say there's nothing compelling or revolutionary about him outside of playing the game?

Jordan sponsored Ward, and RJJ also didn't it?

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

I don't know, didn't you say something about Ali not being popular in africa? Ali was a world figure, he was famous in africa by 65, they say that on a trip there, he was stupefied by how much the people would know him and call his name and it's really when his consciousness went to another level. Whether he's still known in the recent times I don't know, but I always ask people from other countries if they know some of the american cultural icons, Michael Jackson is of course as universal as they get, Ali always gets a yes, I never ask about michael jordan but I would expect that some of the paki's and hindi's wouldn't have a clue and neither would a lot of the asians, I've never asked.

Asians love basketball. I lived there for a little. The locals around me sure did. Stephon Marbury played over there I believe. Many guys who couldn't make it to the league go over there. Pacquiao played pro basketball if I'm not mistaken. The manager of the gym I worked at was a pro basketball player over there; tall guy from the US. They definitely knew who Kobe was where I went. lol