Boxing Nicknames Are Without Peers

Whatever your opinion of boxing, I think you'd be forced to admit that it is without peer among sports in one vital category: nicknames.

For years, nicknames in almost every other sport have been going downhill, and steeply. The whole "first initial dash last name" trend has gotten way out of hand.

There are some exceptions around—my hometown Washington Wizards seem set on reversing the erosion of basketball nicknames, with Gilbert "Agent Zero" Arenas and Caron "Tough Juice" Butler constituting an excellent start—but even then, boxing has a leg up.

It's the only sport where almost everyone has a nickname.

In light of this, I think a compilation of the best boxing nicknames is warranted. So how have I come to write this item, and what are my criteria?

As I'm completely fascinated by this trend, I'm going to ignore the fact that on some boxing bulletin boards, nickname discussions are frowned upon, since they appear to come very frequently.

I ignore this criticism even as those same boxing bulletin boards provided some of the very material I'll be using. If you don't want to read another list of awesome boxing nicknames, feel free to sit this one out.

Because my point here is that boxing is the only sport that maintains high-quality nicknames, I'm going to ignore historical or fictional nicknames. Before his ill-fated meeting with Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, Apollo Creed had a list of nicknames read by the announcer.

On that list was "The Count Of Monte Fisto." That's the best boxing nickname ever, if you ask me, and as such it pains me not to include it. So, only active fighters, or fighters who are listed as inactive as of 2007—given boxers' tendencies to retire and unretire frequently—are on my list.

And lastly, my definition of a good nickname is creative and/or hilarious. I've got no problem with the "Sugars" and "Pretty Boys" of the world, but I will more openly root for a fighter who is named after some kind absurd creature or the other.

Which brings us to the list—I'll hit it by category of nickname, awarding "best ofs" in each slot and discussing a couple of the best of the rest before concluding with honorable mentions.

The "Some Kind Of Creature" Category

Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis may be one head short of a hydra, but he got his nickname honestly. The story goes that after he knocked out an opponent, he so disoriented the man that when he came to, he thought Lewis had six heads.

Oliver "The Atomic Bull" McCall's nickname is completely appropriate. No boxer of the last few years has been as likely to go into nuclear meltdown as good old Oliver, as he showed when he cried and stood with his hands down in front of Lennox Lewis.

But nothing beats Adam "The Swamp Donkey" Richards. Nothing. Before you laugh, ask yourself if you would like to get into a fight with a swamp donkey, whatever that is. OK, go ahead and laugh.

Honorable mention: Juan "El Pollo" Valenzuela; Nicolay "The Beast From The East" Valuev; Francois "The White Buffalo" Botha; Joe "The Italian Dragon" Calzaghe; Richard "The Alien" Grant

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