Re. boxing: Okay, I’ll concede that Muhammed Ali was the greatest sports megastar on the planet. Emphasis on was. Sorry, but the OP clearly says “since 2000”. Could most fight fans identify the current heavyweight champion(s) if they ran into them on the street? And while most of them might not know Randy Couture inside and out, they certainly know about the Gracie family, Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, David “Tank” Abbott, Kimo “Kimo” Leopoldo, Mirko “Cro Cop” Flipovic, Brock Lesnar (although he does owe a lot to his WWE background), Quentin “Rampage” Jackson, etc. How many of them can discuss a current boxer (or a recently retired one, e.g. Arturo Gatti)?
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise at all when you consider that MMA has a huge advantage over both Ali and company (the Internet) and the modern sport (free TV). Definitely all the credit in the world should go to the Zuffa organization, without which Ultimate Fighting Championship would’ve almost certainly tanked and set the sport back many years. But make no mistake about it, in terms of visibility, worldwide exposure, fan support, money, buzz, merchandise, publicity, etc., MMA is the reigning king of fighting.
Oh, and if we’re allowed to include local favorites, I’ll nominate the University of Hawaii football team’s miracle season where they either went 12-0 or 12-1 depending on who’s keeping score. This came not long after there was serious talk about a move to Divison 2. Given the Rainbows’ usual pretty-good-to-abysmal streakiness, this is an absolutely astonishing achievement that will most likely never come close to being repeated.
What aobut Maradonna kicking an opponent in the 84? 88? world cup, or the Tonya Harding / Nancy Kerrigan episode. Not to say that Zidanes wasn’t shocking…just not sure if it was the most shocking.
I don’t recognise any of the names you’re mentioning, but during the late 70’s / early 80’s I certainly remember Ali, Foreman, Sugar Ray and more recently even guys like De La Hoya… not that this means very much of course
DKW, one could make a legitimate argument that MMA is bigger than boxing since 2000. But in your first comment, you said MMA is bigger than boxing ever was, which is what everyone is objecting to.
How is this any different than what Tulane did? Almost every year there’s some non-BCS school that plays an easy schedule and makes it through the season with a near undefeated record.