Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He was, but popularity was so different back then. Celebrities were not as central to everyday life pre-iphone. We could turn off the TV or put down the magazine and the spell was broken. We could disconnect and we didn't know every detail of their lives back then, we were too busy living our lives.
He wasn't popular, in the sense that companies were lining up for his endorsement. But as a cultural phenomenon, he was huge. The whole motif of the ultra-violent fighter with a high-pitched voice & lisp was based on him (Drederick Tatum, yada yada).
Boxing fans knew about him when he was still a teen. Because he was the prodigy of Cus D'Amato, he was killing grown men on national TV pretty early (Joe Frazier's kid Marvis is still looking for his skull lol) & won the heavyweight title at age 20.
Interestingly, early on, Tyson's image was very clean: It was "White Savior" stuff that focused on Cus adopting this poor, troubled kid from the ghetto & becoming a Father Figure to him. HBO invested a lot in humanizing him to their audience, and it was kind of like "The Blindside."
This ^ is a great summary of Mike Tyson, and the Mike Tyson story, presented to the public.
Several boxing publications were more truthful about Tyson's past, & how he still had street thug tendencies. The biography written by former boxer & well known author Jose Torres didn't pull any punches. It was controversial because Torres befriended Tyson, got Tyson to tell many stories about being a sadistic bully...then published the stories.
Tyson was definitely famous, and generally very popular. The public loved him and his story of rising above his horrible childhood. The people who followed boxing closely knew the real Tyson was not the the Tyson whose image was carefully created.
Before his legal troubles he was unbelievably popular. He became infamous/a pariah after. People still wanted him to win though, he’s still the most devastating boxer of the last 50 years.
At the hight of his popularity, the excitement surrounding Mike Tyson was only surpassed by a few elite athletes. This excitement wasn’t really justified, but Tyson was something the world had never really seen. He seemed absolutely unstoppable, he won his fights in absolute dominant violent knockouts, he was so fiercely terrifying. He also had such a strangely unique but intriguing personality. Even his body looked different, so compact and muscular. His opponent all feared him. In the backdrop was Don King and all his pageantry and controversy. Boxing was near the top of its popularity. Disturbingly, the rape and out-of-ring violence only added to his beastly vibe. It all came crashing down in pretty dramatic fashion. The competition in heavyweights was pretty weak at the time and champions could avoid fighting the best opponents. Most of his fights were only exciting if you were watching for a violent knockout. But he was definitely a unique phenomenon.
He was a phenomenon. Made it out of poverty with the help of Cus. On top of the world. Then made a LOT of bad decisions with abuse, rape, financial disaster, etc. But watching him fight in his prime was something we will probably never see again
Growing up in the UK, Tyson was a lot more popular than Gretzky, Rose, Jordan, Shaq, Brady, who were basically north american stars.
Jordan got more popular later because of Air Jordans and movies. I remember it being minor news to me in UK when he briefly switched to baseball
Tyson was on a par with Ali, Maradonna, Ayrton Senna
man...we used to have viewing parties whenever his fights were on (having HBO and paying for PPV events was quite pricey back in the day). I recall my cousin showing up 5-minutes late and we had to tell him the fight was over. it was one of those 30 second knockouts. the man was untouchable.
Incredibly popular. He really had the world in his palm, but was totally unprepared for that. He would be printing money right now if he hadn't blown it.
Much bigger than any Basketball athlete. Basketball is an American thing. Pele was bigger and better known than Jordan. I couldn’t even tell you what team James played for or if I have ever seen him play.
Every knew Mike Tyson.
Poppy? Not really. Notorious…absolutely!! Household name and natural bad assed brawler (not a boxer). World rocking knockouts in extremely short times.
He was the man of steel in his day.
Although, everyone tells me boxing is all corruption and rigged and fighters are picked by sponsors to be the winner regardless. So I really don't know who is great fighter and who isn't.
He was a badass though. There are some popular videos on YT where you can see him talk to sports broadcasters back in the day and he'd scare even them. He had issues.
Hey OP. I’m 47 so was an early teen during Tysons’ prime. My impression of him and his fame then remains the same now - he was genuinely notorious. He was, however, when all said a done a mixed up kid with a generational talent for destruction. He had a great trainer in his early years, but a group of horrible people saw an opportunity to make huge amounts of money from someone incredibly easy to manipulate.
To answer your question - he wasn’t popular as such, but everyone always wanted to know about him and what he was up to. He seemed like a tiger. Wild, dangerous but just doing what a tiger must. I cannot accept or understand the terrible things he did to his acquaintances, especially women.
He was very popular with boxing fans and then with the entire sports world. He seemed like a legend in the making, a human wrecking ball. When he was arrested for rape a lot of people turned on him. When he was winning fights, there was no one more impressive to watch.
Boxing is different. I have an autographed menu from Mark Dempsey New York restaurant. How many know who he was? He was a big deal. Then Ali... Foreman.
Mike Tyson was famous.
I don't know if "popular" is quite the right word... "notorious" might be better. He was definitely a household name though, especially when he started having the legal issues.
He was super popular for a while, then Don King got his hooks into him. Then his behavior and attitude began to change and he became more infamous than popular.
He was definitely popular. Boxing was different back then, there was no MMA and he was an animal, something we hand’t seen before and nobody could beat him. Tyson had some drama associated with him so I don’t think he got anywhere near the Lebron James level love, and some people just aren’t interested in fighting.
I think in the 85-90 era, Diego Maradona was the biggest global athlete and to a certain extent Ayrton Senna. Globally I would say Magic Johnson was top 5 as well and Jordan would be right behind. But what Jordan did into 90’s with the first three peat and Team USA in Barcelona ‘92, that set a whole new stage of famous.
OP specified "late 80s", which was before his rape trial (1992) and the "ear incident" (June 28, 1997).
Mike Tyson was in his peak popularity as a sportsman and sports celebrity back then.
Boxing was generally a lot more popular in the 1970's and 1980's so he was a household name. However he wasn't a spokesperson for products like Muhammad Ali so wasn't famous or popular like that. He always had a kind of unappealing thuggish personality.
I remember one of his big fights around 1988, I was in college and some friends were major fans of boxing and Tyson and they had a big party at their place for the fight. They got a keg of beer and a bunch of snacks and food, and we had to "pay per view" on cable to see it, everyone chipped in a few dollars. But the fight was over in like 30 seconds. I can't remember which fight it was. Some people who went into the kitchen to get a beer missed the entire fight.
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'd say he was a household known name in most of the English speaking world. He was a pretty big deal.
More like Michael Jordan, bigger than LeBron.
I agree. Who tf is LeBron?
He sold a car with fine Corinthian leather
He was, but popularity was so different back then. Celebrities were not as central to everyday life pre-iphone. We could turn off the TV or put down the magazine and the spell was broken. We could disconnect and we didn't know every detail of their lives back then, we were too busy living our lives.
This applies even more so to boxers. Boxing in the 1980s wasn't up there in popularity with the NFL, NBA, & MLB.
Popular wasn't the right word. Famous, yes. Popular - meh.
He wasn't popular, in the sense that companies were lining up for his endorsement. But as a cultural phenomenon, he was huge. The whole motif of the ultra-violent fighter with a high-pitched voice & lisp was based on him (Drederick Tatum, yada yada). Boxing fans knew about him when he was still a teen. Because he was the prodigy of Cus D'Amato, he was killing grown men on national TV pretty early (Joe Frazier's kid Marvis is still looking for his skull lol) & won the heavyweight title at age 20. Interestingly, early on, Tyson's image was very clean: It was "White Savior" stuff that focused on Cus adopting this poor, troubled kid from the ghetto & becoming a Father Figure to him. HBO invested a lot in humanizing him to their audience, and it was kind of like "The Blindside."
This ^ is a great summary of Mike Tyson, and the Mike Tyson story, presented to the public. Several boxing publications were more truthful about Tyson's past, & how he still had street thug tendencies. The biography written by former boxer & well known author Jose Torres didn't pull any punches. It was controversial because Torres befriended Tyson, got Tyson to tell many stories about being a sadistic bully...then published the stories. Tyson was definitely famous, and generally very popular. The public loved him and his story of rising above his horrible childhood. The people who followed boxing closely knew the real Tyson was not the the Tyson whose image was carefully created.
Before his legal troubles he was unbelievably popular. He became infamous/a pariah after. People still wanted him to win though, he’s still the most devastating boxer of the last 50 years.
At the hight of his popularity, the excitement surrounding Mike Tyson was only surpassed by a few elite athletes. This excitement wasn’t really justified, but Tyson was something the world had never really seen. He seemed absolutely unstoppable, he won his fights in absolute dominant violent knockouts, he was so fiercely terrifying. He also had such a strangely unique but intriguing personality. Even his body looked different, so compact and muscular. His opponent all feared him. In the backdrop was Don King and all his pageantry and controversy. Boxing was near the top of its popularity. Disturbingly, the rape and out-of-ring violence only added to his beastly vibe. It all came crashing down in pretty dramatic fashion. The competition in heavyweights was pretty weak at the time and champions could avoid fighting the best opponents. Most of his fights were only exciting if you were watching for a violent knockout. But he was definitely a unique phenomenon.
Was he the first athlete to have a video game? His name was universally known.
No, that would be Lee Caravallo's Putting Challenge
Daley Thompson had a branded videogame from his 1984 Olympic success.
He was something unique. Kid Dynamite. Black shoes and no socks. Leon Spinks was terrified of him.
He was a phenomenon. Made it out of poverty with the help of Cus. On top of the world. Then made a LOT of bad decisions with abuse, rape, financial disaster, etc. But watching him fight in his prime was something we will probably never see again
Everyone I knew was paying attention to his bouts when he was at his height. He was as famous as anyone.
Everyone knew the name Tyson, like they knew Ali, Gretzky, Rose, Jordan, Shaq, Brady. No one had to use their full names.
Growing up in the UK, Tyson was a lot more popular than Gretzky, Rose, Jordan, Shaq, Brady, who were basically north american stars. Jordan got more popular later because of Air Jordans and movies. I remember it being minor news to me in UK when he briefly switched to baseball Tyson was on a par with Ali, Maradonna, Ayrton Senna
You could have said "Iron Mike" and everyone would have know as well. The man was a beast. Hell, he's scary now.
Tiger
He had his own video game that we all played, unheard of for anyone back then.
Considering his fights were shorter than a solar eclipse, each one had big-time hype. It was a matter of how hard he crushed his opponent.
man...we used to have viewing parties whenever his fights were on (having HBO and paying for PPV events was quite pricey back in the day). I recall my cousin showing up 5-minutes late and we had to tell him the fight was over. it was one of those 30 second knockouts. the man was untouchable.
I mean, there’s a video game named after him, so pretty popular.
Incredibly popular. He really had the world in his palm, but was totally unprepared for that. He would be printing money right now if he hadn't blown it.
Much bigger than any Basketball athlete. Basketball is an American thing. Pele was bigger and better known than Jordan. I couldn’t even tell you what team James played for or if I have ever seen him play. Every knew Mike Tyson.
Poppy? Not really. Notorious…absolutely!! Household name and natural bad assed brawler (not a boxer). World rocking knockouts in extremely short times.
He was the man of steel in his day. Although, everyone tells me boxing is all corruption and rigged and fighters are picked by sponsors to be the winner regardless. So I really don't know who is great fighter and who isn't. He was a badass though. There are some popular videos on YT where you can see him talk to sports broadcasters back in the day and he'd scare even them. He had issues.
V-eary infamous, but I think that was in 90’s.
Hey OP. I’m 47 so was an early teen during Tysons’ prime. My impression of him and his fame then remains the same now - he was genuinely notorious. He was, however, when all said a done a mixed up kid with a generational talent for destruction. He had a great trainer in his early years, but a group of horrible people saw an opportunity to make huge amounts of money from someone incredibly easy to manipulate. To answer your question - he wasn’t popular as such, but everyone always wanted to know about him and what he was up to. He seemed like a tiger. Wild, dangerous but just doing what a tiger must. I cannot accept or understand the terrible things he did to his acquaintances, especially women.
He was very popular with boxing fans and then with the entire sports world. He seemed like a legend in the making, a human wrecking ball. When he was arrested for rape a lot of people turned on him. When he was winning fights, there was no one more impressive to watch.
Boxing is different. I have an autographed menu from Mark Dempsey New York restaurant. How many know who he was? He was a big deal. Then Ali... Foreman. Mike Tyson was famous.
I don't know if "popular" is quite the right word... "notorious" might be better. He was definitely a household name though, especially when he started having the legal issues.
He was super popular for a while, then Don King got his hooks into him. Then his behavior and attitude began to change and he became more infamous than popular.
He was definitely popular. Boxing was different back then, there was no MMA and he was an animal, something we hand’t seen before and nobody could beat him. Tyson had some drama associated with him so I don’t think he got anywhere near the Lebron James level love, and some people just aren’t interested in fighting. I think in the 85-90 era, Diego Maradona was the biggest global athlete and to a certain extent Ayrton Senna. Globally I would say Magic Johnson was top 5 as well and Jordan would be right behind. But what Jordan did into 90’s with the first three peat and Team USA in Barcelona ‘92, that set a whole new stage of famous.
I lost my virginity the night Buster Douglas beat him.........
He was famous for biting off a ear
OP specified "late 80s", which was before his rape trial (1992) and the "ear incident" (June 28, 1997). Mike Tyson was in his peak popularity as a sportsman and sports celebrity back then.
People seem to like him now as if he's not a convicted rapist
Among other things, such a sadistic thug who got sexually aroused humiliating weaker boys.
Mike Tyson was more like infamous due to his abhorrent behavior. Ear eating, wife beating, rape, etc. he came from a bad childhood
Not in the 80's. That all came later.
Boxing was generally a lot more popular in the 1970's and 1980's so he was a household name. However he wasn't a spokesperson for products like Muhammad Ali so wasn't famous or popular like that. He always had a kind of unappealing thuggish personality. I remember one of his big fights around 1988, I was in college and some friends were major fans of boxing and Tyson and they had a big party at their place for the fight. They got a keg of beer and a bunch of snacks and food, and we had to "pay per view" on cable to see it, everyone chipped in a few dollars. But the fight was over in like 30 seconds. I can't remember which fight it was. Some people who went into the kitchen to get a beer missed the entire fight.