the sport has a long rep of being a nasty (and corrupt) business

As far as I can tell, sport is a pretty corrupt/nasty business. Got some nice people in it, but still.

Well, it was just that one time for Jon B.

Well, when a man plays Theremin and wears silver pleather, crazy-ass ear-biting starts to seem mundane.

Based mostly on the sole example of George Foreman, I can see a lot of boxers being actually sweeties (like a lot of big, tough-looking guys I've known), but putting on a scary image for publicity's sake. Tyson notwithstanding.

I think they do, based on the "how would I feel if my daughter were dating one?" test. If all I knew about the guy was that he was a boxer, I'd be significantly more wary than if he were an actuary.

Well, yes, but when the Black Sox conspired to throw the World Series, nobody died as a result. Brain damage and death have a bad habit of showing up in professional boxing, and are far rarer in other sports.

Even in the NFL, when it was obvious Steve Young was getting worse and worse concussions, more and more often, people started muttering that it was time for him to retire -- they didn't tell him to keep playing. After a couple of defensive back broke their necks in compression fractures, they invented those funny collars some defensive men wear now, to protect the cervical spine from compression.

I suspect boxing doesn't have a union, either, where most pro sports do (of varying levels of power).

Got some nice people in it, but still.

On a serious note, I think sports attract people of all stripes, with a common thread of competitiveness (which encompasses agression, assertiveness, etc.). Doesn't preclude a sunny disposition, but I can see how it would attract those with a nasty streak. In some cases, the nasty streak may only exist during the competition (and there may be an element of catharsis at work). But I don't know if Tyson is any more representative of boxers than, say, Ty Cobb was of baseball players.

Note also that Schmeling, Ali, Foreman competed in the pre-Steroids era.

Boxing is famously sleezy. Much more so than any other organized sport. It was corrupted by the gambling, the thrown fights, the dirty fighting. There was so much money involved, and so much to be gained by exploiting people, sending them out hurt, cheating, tanking etc. Other sports have had their scandals, but knocking somebody gives them a concussion and brain damage over time.

Doesn't the sleeziness in boxing speak more to the promotors, trainers, money men, etc., than the fighters?

Brain damage and death have a bad habit of showing up in professional boxing

But that doesn't make it corrupt, does it? The stakes are higher, but the game -- is that different?

If all I knew about the guy was that he was a boxer, I'd be significantly more wary than if he were an actuary.

Obviously I'm terribly biased, and know many more fighters (albeit most amateur) than actuaries, but ... no. I don't think actuaries are any nicer than fighters, by definition, or any less likely to treat my loved ones like crap (physically or mentally). Considering that the fighter knows exactly what happens when he hits, a nice fighter is less likely to think it's no big deal, as compared to someone who knows less.

Doesn't the sleeziness in boxing speak more to the promotors, trainers, money men, etc., than the fighters?

Exactly! And in fact, works well with the Schmeling -- he was nice enough -- it was the other people that had something to gain that were craptastic.