Andy Murray is right up there for me - I don't like tennis as a sport but I genuinely like him. Gareth Bale is a deserved hero in Wales. Lots of rugby players - not sure if they are hero's but many have deserved statuses as good people.
I admire the achievements of Barry Sheene, Joey Dunlop, Michael Dunlop, Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, etc. They have all achieved fame and adoration for their commitment to their sport. Unfortunately, their behaviour always leaves a lot to be desired.
I used to love boxing, especially that golden era when you had the likes of Ali and Frazier… then those fantastic fights between Leonard, Hagler and Hearns… oh and Duran . Reminds me of a time and place, when you could see fantastic fights on terrestrial. I don’t really know who’s champion of what these days . But that aside, Henry Cooper was one of my heroes. A true gentleman Then some of the great players in both codes of er…. Egg chasing . Gareth Edwards, Jonathan Davies, especially as when he swapped codes he wasn’t supposed to last 5 minutes and he more than held his own, the Frenchies like Sella and Jean Pierre Rives, I was never that good at rugby but I wanted to be be Jean Pierre Rives cos he just looked so cool…. League players like Ellery Hanley, Joe Lydon and Andy Gregory…. Eeh they don’t mek em like that na moore
All of those people and their families that give everything to allow a dream to be followed...those are the true heroes IMO.
I think @Moons nomination of Andy Murray is an excellent one too. 3 Grand Slams in an era that was dominated by Rafa, Novak and er… that Swiss one, is no mean feat. A good egg with a good outlook on life too from what I know of him
Possibly John Surtees for me, a very nice bloke, who we have met, the only person to be F1 world champion and 500cc motorcycle champion.
19 year old Tyson would have not feared Ali at all. I can’t put words in his mouth….but past his prime, smashed by drugs and a stupid rape, trying to restore some credibility….that Tyson would concede to a true sorting icon. But 19 year old Tyson would have tried to kill him.
I think it would have played out like the Frazier fights myself. Tyson and Frazier were very similar and that’s the fight I’d have loved to have seen in their primes, Frazier v Tyson!