Top Five Boxers with the Nastiest Nicknames
A nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. It can be short or long. It can be funny, cute or just plain weird. The trend of nicknames in boxing is as old as boxing itself. For some
unknown reason, boxing has been traditionally associated with interesting nicknames that tend to reflect the persona of the boxer.
In some cases, the nickname truly represents the qualities of the boxer, like we can better quote an example of the great boxer of all the time, Mohammad Ali, for instance, was known by the nickname of “The Greatest,” which was indeed the truth in the world
of boxing. However, more often than not, boxers happen to have terrible nicknames.
Darnell Wilson “Ding-a-Ling Man”
Darnell Wilson is an American boxer. He was a great boxer and a very hard hitter, a tireless fighter. He is known for using both of his hands to grasp his opponent. He was one among the known boxers of his era.
Darnell was very well known for his announcement to his rival in the ring,
“I am the Ding-a-Ling Man. I will ring your bell.” Isn’t it funny? Or may be furious? This earned him the nickname of “Ding-a-Ling.”
However, after some time the fans of Darnell seemed to be upset with his nickname and also ridiculed this name, and called it offensive and distasteful.
Benny Leonard aka “Ghetto Wizard”
Benny was a great American boxer. According to the list of Ring Magazine’s for list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years, Benny was at number 8, ahead of 72 great boxers of the world. Leonard was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
and World Boxing Hall of Fame also.
It is said that Benny had picked up the basic lessons of boxing on the streets of New York. Therefore, he came to be recognized as the “Ghetto Wizard,” to reflect his background.
But, later on his nickname was offended as it shows people with humble origins in a poor light.
Johnny Risko “Cleveland Rubber Man”
An American boxer, Johnny Risko was born in 1902 and passed away in 1953. During his career, he was a top contender in the Heavyweight and Light-Heavyweight Divisions.
He defeated such men as Mike McTigue, Harry Dillon, King Levinsky, Tom Heeney, Johnny Risko and many others. To put him in simple words, he was exceptional boxer.
His major defensive skill was to continue to exist from the hard blows from his rivals. Possibly that skill was responsible for his nickname of “Cleveland Rubber Man,” however over the decades, many fans of boxing have tended to dislike this nickname for
one reason or the other.
Emmanuel Nwodo “Chukwu”
Emmanuel Nwodo is a Nigerian professional boxer, fights in the cruiserweight division. In total 26 fights of his boxing career, he won 22. Out of those 22 winning fights, 18 were won by knockouts.
He made his international debut in 1998. In his very first international encounter, Nwodo demolished his strong opponent James Omondi very easily.
His nickname “Chukwu” has nothing to do with himself or his boxing, totally irrelevant nickname that was predestined by his fans.
Sam Langford “Boston Tar Baby”
A Black Canadian boxer, Sam Langford was born in 1883 and died in 1956. He was called as the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows." He was well known for his powerful punches, rated second by The Ring on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time".
Sam engrossed the crowds for several years in the boxing arena. Besides being relatively shorter in height at 5’ 7”, his fans love the way he provided his impressive heighten opponents with hard-hitting time in the ring.
However, his nickname “Boston Tar Baby” seems to have racist connotations for many people, and is totally not appreciated in the world of boxing.
Boxing is one among the famous and mostly watched sports of the world; the list of interesting and witty nicknames in this sport is endless. However, it is really important to take care of the moral aspect before allotting any nickname to any of the boxer.
They are our heroes, we must pay them respect rather than ridiculous nicknames.
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