Everybody wants a badass nickname )Bonecrusher Smith, Thunder Gatti, Hit Man Hearns, Iron Mike) or a marketable one (Golden Boy, Boom Boom, etc) or a descriptive one complimentary of one’s style (Sugar Rays and Marvelous Marvin) … but what about pushovers? Which boxers of some note (whether champions or contenders or even plucky journeymen) embraced the kind of nicknames that might make an opponent quick to sign up for an easy night if they judged only by monicker? I have a few and figure we can come up with many more: Sweet Pea Whitaker has to take the cake … but you have to eat your vegetables first! Pernell was indeed sweet, but the ‘pea’ added to it just makes him seem adorable … until you try to hit him. After 12 rounds of missing and getting countered, most guys would probably stick to meat and potatoes rather than venture into Whitaker’s garden again. Termite Watkins is a good one. Actually it’s a scary nickname if you’re a block of wood or a homeowner, but otherwise it’s just an ant with an appetite. Yet he was plucky and scrappy and annoying to those who learned first-hand why he got the nickname. Cookie Wallace was a 1970s journeyman heavyweight who fought them all, out of Texas iirc. Well, C is for Cookie, and that’s good enough for me. Kid Chocolate sounds sweet, but it was a bitter experience for most who fought him.
If I ever fight I’ll be stealing Mr Jensen’s moniker. To add some answers @Saintpat “Slapsie” Maxie Rosenbloom and Stanley “Kitten” Hayward.
Jose ''Mantequilla'' Napoles Georges ''The Orchid Man'' Carpentier James J Braddock ''The Cinderella man'' Roman ''Chocolatito'' Gonzalez Maxie ''Slapsie'' Rosenbloom Owen ''What the heck'' Beck
Bruce "The Mouse" Strauss Lance "Goofy" Whittaker Edward "Pee Wee" Parker Maurice "Thin Man" Blocker Never thought "Gentleman" Cooney/Corbett was very intimidating. Can't pass up a chance to throw Frank "Rootin Tootin" Newton's name out there.
Anvi Yildirim's nickname is "Mr. Robot", which is hands down the most ridiculous nickname I've ever heard. It also fits this thread of being not very threatening.
Mushy Callahan is another. Battling Bozo (t/n Curtis Hambright) Johnny “The Entertainer” Nelson Julius “The Chef” Jackson I wish longtime Louisiana referee Elmo Adolph had gone by “Tickle Me” (at least he didn’t lean into his last name and go by “The Fuhrer” … far as I know he didn’t have a nickname at all).
Eric Scott Esch, better known as the mythical "Butterbean", is a must in any "weird nicknames" list. This content is protected
The Boston gob, Jack Sharkey. The Boston tar baby Sam Langford. "Kingfish" Levinsky. The Cleveland Rubber Man, Johnny Risko.
