Why is it that “the bear” stuck to Liston but “the mummy” didn't stick to Foreman?

As it pertains to beating The Old Mongoose, Floyd “The Young Cobra” might’ve been a better fit.

How about the “White Rabbit” for Usyk instead of “The Cat? Lol.

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Lol didn't he just

 

Shavers tried to go with the Black Destroyer previously. Not as sinister as the Dark Destroyer, but a lot better than the Acorn.

 

Deeply concerned about your use of apostrophes, sometimes, Fergalicious.

 

That was like a British version of 'yo mama' jokes. Way too personal.

 

There is just nothing lower than a British yo mama joke. Damn butterteeth.

 

The Mummy (before the terrible movie franchise under the same name of more recent vintage) was a 1932 Boris Karloff film and not exactly at the forefront of popular culture when Ali applied it to Foreman.

Liston wasn’t just the Bear … he was the Big Ugly Bear, which is pretty funny and clicked with how people perceived him as a scowling, menacing felon.

That’s the way it goes with nicknames. Sometimes they stick, sometimes they don’t. I worked with a guy named Ed who wore wire-rim glasses and was the least imposing guy you’d ever seen, but LA Confidential came out a couple years before he joined us and I nicknamed him Shotgun Ed (from a line in the movie, if you haven’t seen it) and because it contrasted so much with his kind of milquetoast manner and appearance it caught on immediately. He’d walk through the office and people would say ‘hey Shotgun Ed, come over here …’

Shotgun Ed really liked the nickname and would always grin when someone would call him that, btw.

I had a few other attempts at coining office nicknames and either they were lame or just didn’t catch on because maybe people didn’t get my references or sense of humor. That’s how it goes.

Liston got stuck with the Big Ugly Bear and it became part of his persona.

 

Look, I love my apostrophe s, alright, pal......??

 

'Damn butterteeth!!' Best insult ever.

 

A Tutsi in 1994 couldn't imagine the level of dreadfulness and tragedy of what you did in this comment, even if they just got finished listening to Morrissey.

 

Sorry but you mentioned Morrissey.. And that gave me a nervous breakdown

 

I wasn't sure who I thought was winning this back and forth between Boxed and Feargal but this last comment has swayed Ed.

 

Liston didn't do himself any favors with his constant scowling and gruff demeanor. He behaved like a grumpy bear who just lost a fish, and he fought like one too. That's probably why the nick name stuck. When people saw the stark contrast between Ali's clean shaven handsome face and Liston's inmate mug, that only made things worse. After allegations that he took a dive/just quit against Ali, people had even less sympathy for Liston so people felt less bad about referring to him by Ali's insult.

Foreman on the other hand was popular due to his rags to riches story, winning gold and displaying his pride as an American, and absolutely crushing notable fighters such as Frazier, Chuvalo, Norton, etc. Leading up to Zaire, it seemed only a handful of people were buying into the Ali hype and probably just dismissed his attempts to downplay Foreman's chances by calling him a "slow mummy". They weren't convinced as he easily dispatched 3 men who Ali heavily struggled with.

The insult was referring to Foreman's long guard slightly open stance where he stalked his opponents, parried, and hammered away whenever he got close. This stance changed after he worked with Gil Clancy and Foreman attempted to become more of a boxer puncher. When he came back as an older man with yet another style change and a more friendly demeanor, many people forgot all about the sulking, scowling mummy of the 70's. Liston had no such comebacks, nor did he attempt to reinvent himself and remained a pretty withdrawn and surly individual to most reporters.

For what it's worth, the Fight Night boxing video games list Foreman's boxing stance as "mummy". This stance can be used for create-a-boxer mode and gives your custom boxer a boost in chin/body toughness and power.