Most unpopular linear HW champion?

[KOTF]

In terms of being disliked, who was the most unpopular HW champion?

[Boom_Boom]

Jack johnson

[My2Sense]

Shannon Briggs.

[Flea Man]

Carnera? What was the perception of him when he was active?

[mcvey]

In terms of being disliked, who was the most unpopular HW champion?

Johnson
Liston

[Boxed Ears]

Johnson (Obvious)
Burns (for giving a black man-Johnson-his chance at the title and Johnson being truly despised)
Liston (mob ties, thug life, bully, crushed the well liked Patterson)
Briggs (won from notorious decision over a very well liked Foreman)
Tunney (looked like a snob compared to Dempsey to the common man)
Marciano (by some for his awkward unpretty style and destroying Joe Louis)
...You know what? They were all unpopular to some group in some way. Ali, Lewis, Schmeling, Holmes, etc...

[Stevie G]

Carnera? What was the perception of him when he was active?
Carnera,at one point,had an image of being dense. Turned out that he was fluent in three or four languages !

[kidargentine]

Jack Johnson back at the time, but I guess his reputation has changed since then.

Also of note Floyd Patterson, who I thought was a decent champ.

[Robney]

I remember James Douglas wasn't to popular either...

[Sister Sledge]

Marvin Hart was pretty shitty, so was Carnera. Ruiz was hated almost universally. I would say that Valuev was one of the worst, too.

[The Mongoose]

Ezzard Charles. Articles at the time were absolutely vicious. Joe Louis was a very tough act to follow.

Lennox Lewis. Funny, how quickly that turned around..at least with some writers in recent times.

[PhillyPhan69]

Lot's af variables here. Most hated, hated by the most people, a person whose popularity divided a nation, globaly hated.

I would lean towards jack johnson

In modern days it would seem that the Klit's are hated by quite a lot of ESB posters

[sweetsci]

Briggs popped into my head because he was "unpopular" as in "unknown" and "unacknowledged". Sometimes I wonder if even he knows he held the real (aka linear) HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD.

As far as being disliked by the public, I recall reading that Dempsey was very unpopular until his losses to Tunney.

Most unpopular during his time? Jack Johnson. Ali during the 1960's might be second.

[Bummy Davis]

Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko's, I think we have to call Vlad lineal at this point in time....America does not make a big deal over these fellows....Lewis a bit more now...Not the Klitschko's in USA

[motownsiu]

Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko's, I think we have to call Vlad lineal at this point in time....America does not make a big deal over these fellows....Lewis a bit more now...Not the Klitschko's in USA
one time i was eating in a restraunt where wlad happened to be, and i was the only one that knew him. no one else in the restraunt either cared or recognized him. he was one of the nicest guys you could meet, and was so happy i came up to him and chatted with him. this wasn't when he was coming up either. it was after the calvin brock fight. we spoke for like 5 minutes until my gf wanted to go. he gave me an autograph, and picture. he was pratically mobbing this fan. so, you are absolutely right, no one gives a damn about the klitch in the us. sad really when he's such a gentle giant, and interesting character.

[Stonehands89]

one time i was eating in a restraunt where wlad happened to be, and i was the only one that knew him. no one else in the restraunt either cared or recognized him. he was one of the nicest guys you could meet, and was so happy i came up to him and chatted with him. this wasn't when he was coming up either. it was after the calvin brock fight. we spoke for like 5 minutes until my gf wanted to go. he gave me an autograph, and picture. he was pratically mobbing this fan. so, you are absolutely right, no one gives a damn about the klitch in the us. sad really when he's such a gentle giant, and interesting character.
Thanks you for this. Wlad particular exudes class and humility. Both are very good men. I have far less of an affinity for their ring performances and style, but it is good to see the top heavyweights avoiding the headlines.

[motownsiu]

Thanks you for this. Wlad particular exudes class and humility. Both are very good men. I have far less of an affinity for their ring performances and style, but it is good to see the top heavyweights avoiding the headlines.


i agree wlad comes off as more of a nicer guy. his older brother is respectful, and seems class as well, but i think you can see at times he can have a mean streak, or more killer instinct. he seems more like the hot head between the two but that's not saying much. you could see vitali toying with kevin johnson and sam peters, where as wlad just seems to want to get the job done and go on about his business, and that's not what american fans are are looking for.

[MRBILL]

Marvin Hart was pretty shitty, so was Carnera. Ruiz was hated almost universally. I would say that Valuev was one of the worst, too.
"Hartless & Valubum" were awful........

MR.BILL:tired

[mrbassie]

Johnson
Liston

Definitely one of these, I don't think anybody else comes close.

[janitor]

Well Jack Johnson is the only one who abnybody actualy atempted to kill.

That should give him a fairly strong case.

[Boilermaker]

I think that Johnson was definitely one of the most hated boxers that lived, although dont forget that for all the hate (mostly by the whites) there was also the love and adulation by others.

Max Schmelling has to be a very good chance of beating Jack Johnson. He was seen (by most americans at least and probably the world) as being representative of Hitler and his Naziism. Despite the fact that he was actually a good man, i think that he was probably the most hated as Hitler hate would have attracted more neutrals, and both black and white than the racism hate for Jack Johnson.

To be honest, i cant think of anyone who might come close to these wo guys. If clutching at straws, I would say that perhaps Sullivan might be the closest. Loved by the boxing public, but in a time where the sport was often illegal and seen as barbaric, i would imagine that combined with his drunken antics, he would have a lot of hate from non boxing fans.

Ali probably is 4th and the only other worth a mention. The Muslim turn/Malcolm X association, the loud mouth persona and the perception of a poor technical style and bad chin make him hated.

I cant think of a 5th fighter in the same league as those above. I suppose it would be a fight out between Marvin Hart, John Ruiz (if considered a champ) and probably Shannon Briggs simply because they were considered poor fighters. The Liston pushers are interesting also, and along the same lines of thinking there was a lot of hate for Tyson, and i think he takes the 5th spot, if you consider the full length of his career, particularly after the rape incident. Actually i am more convinced of it the more i think of it.

just remembered also, all the hate towards Jack Dempsey who was considered a draft dodger (at least i am pretty sure it was Dempsey. He was very hated for a while, wasnt he?

The only other fighter i would throw out for consideration is Joe Frazier. A long shot, but i can remember all the Ali Frazier toys and memorabilia, most of which probably came out after Ali won the third fight and was pushed by ali and my recollection was that in the general public Ali was painted as the hero and Joe as the bad guy, among the kids. If this is correct, i think that Joe would rank highly.

Anyway, my final decision(in order):
Schmelling, Johnson, Tyson, Sullivan, Ali

[MRBILL]

Well Jack Johnson is the only one who abnybody actualy atempted to kill.

That should give him a fairly strong case.

YES! 'Tis true, Janitor.......... BUT! "Unpopular" is not the same thing as being "Hated." You can still be hated while being a popular figure about town or in the press...... I think Jack Johnson was more so hated / despised by middle America in 1910-circa rather than unpopular.....

:thumbsup:deal:hi:

MR.BILL

[Jersey Joe]

Liston

[Sayers]

The only other fighter i would throw out for consideration is Joe Frazier. A long shot, but i can remember all the Ali Frazier toys and memorabilia, most of which probably came out after Ali won the third fight and was pushed by ali and my recollection was that in the general public Ali was painted as the hero and Joe as the bad guy, among the kids. If this is correct, i think that Joe would rank highly.


I am pretty sure it was Frazier whom there is a story about when he won the title and returned for his homecoming, he expected parades and celebrations in the street but when he got off the plane all he saw was a deserted runway. He was certainly far from popular.

[Mendoza]

In terms of being disliked, who was the most unpopular HW champion?

Burns or Carnera.

[TheGreatA]

I am pretty sure it was Frazier whom there is a story about when he won the title and returned for his homecoming, he expected parades and celebrations in the street but when he got off the plane all he saw was a deserted runway. He was certainly far from popular.

I believe it was Sonny Liston. The sight of it broke him as he had expected that becoming the champ would turn his life around. Just now I watched a Floyd Patterson interview post-Liston I fight in which he encouraged people to give Liston a chance and forget about his past. No one did.

[djanders]

In terms of being disliked, who was the most unpopular HW champion?

I would like to throw out the name Max Schmeling for consideration. He was disliked in the United States, at least in the part of the United States I knew about. He was a German...during a time when Hitler's Germans weren't thought too highly of around here...and he won the heavyweight title while laying on the canvas claiming a foul...beating an American. I guess he was well liked in Germany, though.

I understand Jack Johnson was disliked, too, for reasons previously discussed. Jack may deserve the nod here, being disliked in his homeland throughout his career.

[My2Sense]

How about Dempsey or Ali (first reign)?

[box101]

Shannon Briggs.
never linear champ owned alphbet belt from sergay lehovivich how ever you spell it although a great fightr larry holmes never the most eye pleaseing an as youngster rember most rooting aginst him

[red cobra]

Max Schmeling and Jack Sharkey both come to mind as being unpopular. Schmeling unjustly during his reign as champion because he was a "foriegner" and won his title in an unseemly way, via dq and later when he fought Baer and Louis both times because of the spectre of Nazism, which he was wrongfully judged by.
Jack Sharkey seemed to be a weird dude to sportswriters and the fans because of his being rather emotional and the fact that he was caught crying at various times, like after a victory. This didn't go over too well with sportswriters who were hard on Gene Tunney merely because he read books and seemed to be intellectual.

[Boxed Ears]

never linear champ owned alphbet belt from sergay lehovivich how ever you spell it although a great fightr larry holmes never the most eye pleaseing an as youngster rember most rooting aginst him

Briggs had the linear title from George Foreman on a highly disputed decision, actually. Lennox won the linear title from Briggs.

[My2Sense]

Briggs had the linear title from George Foreman on a highly disputed decision, actually.

Bingo.

And the highlighted bit is what made him a candidate for this thread.

[Boxed Ears]

Bingo.

And the highlighted bit is what made him a candidate for this thread.

Lennox really cleaned up that whole mess. :yep I hadn't learned to appreciate him so much then but I was relieved when that finally happened.

[MRBILL]

The only people who actually believed Briggs to be the lineal / linear champion in late 1997 were the folks living inside Briggs' household..... WORD!

MR.BILL

[Boxed Ears]

The only people who actually believed Briggs to be the lineal / linear champion in late 1997 were the folks living inside Briggs' household..... WORD!

MR.BILL

Well, to be honest, if I were his brother or cousin I'd be right there ''You beat George Foreman, champ!"

[Minotauro]

In terms of hate it would have to be Johnson. Holmes and Charles were unpopular due to the men they replaced being so popular.

[Drew101]

Burns. Followed in the footsteps of the enormously popular Jefferies, was considered to be somewhat abrasive by the general public, and he broke the color line. I think level of dislike taints perception of how good he was as a fighter (which was damned good indeed.)

[PowerPuncher]

Obviously Johnson by a landslide. Although Ali had to go on a Euro tour and was very unpopular in the early days himself