By Ken Hissner: Philadelphia boxers were notorious for their having nicknames!
Such as “Bad” Bennie Briscoe “Gypsy” Joe Harris, “Smokin” Joe Frazier, “Smokin” Bert Cooper, Bobby Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, Stanley “Kitten” Hayward, Willie “The Worm” Monroe, Eugene “Cyclone” Hart, Garnett “Sugar” Hart, Meldrick “The Kid” Taylor, Frank “The Animal” Fletcher, Anthony “Two Gun” Fletcher, Anthony “TKO” Boyle, “Joltin” Jeff Chandler, Charles “Sonny” Liston, “Slim” Jim Robinson, Jerry “The Bull” Martin, Jacqui “Sister Smoke” Frazier Lyde, to name a few.
Today in Philadelphia there’s top welterweight contender Jaron “Boots” Ennis and WBO and WBC World Super Bantamweight champion Stephen “Cool Boy Steph” Fulton.
Other places have “Sugar’s” like “Sugar” Ray Robinson, “Sugar” Ray Leonard, “Sugar” Ray Seales. Others Gervonta “Tank” Davis, 3-division world champ Henry “Homicide Hank” Armstrong, Alexis “The Thin Man” Arguello, two Hit men in Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns, Charles “The Natural” Murray, Jermall “Hit Man” Charlo and his brother Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo, “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin, “Skinny” Jimmy Rothwell, Jake “Bronx Bull” LaMotta, Marcos “Baby Face Assassin” Barrera, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Dennis “The Hackney Rock” Andries, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade, Kid “Cuban Hawk” Gavilan, Aaron “Hawk” Pryor, Jimmy “The Mighty Atom” Wilde, Chuck “White Chocolate” Walker, Mike “The Jewis Bomber” Rossman, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Arturo “Thunder” Gatti, Laila “She Be Stingin” Ali, Christy “Coal Miner’s Daughter” Martin, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. Eddie “Bossman” Jones, Dwight “The Camden Buzzsaw” Muhammad Qawi, Ray “Windmill” White, Harry “Pittsburgh Windmill” Greb, Mickey “The Toy Bulldog” Walker, Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, Felix “Tito” Trinidad and Hector “Macho” Camacho.
Heavyweights Rocky “The Brockton Blockbuster” Marciano, Muhammad “The Greatest” Ali, Lennox “The Lion” Lewis, Bruce “Atlantic City Express” Seldon, Donovan “Razor” Ruddock, Alex “The Destroyer” Stewart, Earnie “Black Destroyer” Shavers, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, Nikolai “The Russian Giant” Valuev, Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe, Larry “Legend” Donald, James “Buster” Douglas, Joe “The Brown Bomber” Louis, Michael “Jinx” Spinks, “Neon” Leon Spinks, Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams, Carl “The Truth” Williams, “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney, Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder, Sam “Boston Bonecrusher” Langford, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, James “Bonecrusher” Smith, Tony “TNT” Tubbs, Tyson “Gypsy King” Fury, “Iron” Mike Tyson, “Big” George Foreman, Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko, Vitali “Dr. Ironfist” Klitschko, “Merciless” Ray Mercer, Larry “Easton Assassin” Holmes, Chris “Rapid Fire” Byrd, Alexander “Russian Vityaz” Povetkin, Jack “Manassa Mauler” Dempsey, Gene “Fighting Marine” Tunney, “Gentleman” Jim Corbett, “Two Ton” Tony Galento, James “Cinderella Man” Braddock, James J “Boilermaker” Jeffries, “Ruby“ Bob Fitzsimmons, Ezzard “Cincinnati Cobra” Charles, “Jersey” Joe Walcott, Ingemar “Ingo” Johansson, Jack “Galveston Giant” Johnson, David “Tuaman” Tua, Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, Tye “Big Sky” Fields, Frans “White Buffalo” Botha, Corrie “Sniper” Sanders, Mike “The Giant” White to name a few.
I’m sure our readers have others they will mention.