BoxRec

The Game Chicken, Hen Pierce.

raylawpc wrote:

Goodnight, Irene wrote:

raylawpc wrote: Do you know how he got the nickname?

He was always doing something mysterious in the ring apparently, which I find funny.

Tommy Ryan said the only thing mysterious about Billy Smith was how many ways he could figure out to foul you in a fight.

When Smith began making a name for himself as a fighter, he was very vague when answering questions about his background (where is was from, how many fights he'd had, etc.). This prompted a sportwriter to question, "Who is this mysterious Billy Smith?" And that's how he got the nickname.

That's great info on a great nickname. One of the best.


Back in the day there seemed to be less fighters giving themselves nicknames than today.

Tim 'Doughboy' Tomashek.

The man famously pulled out of the audience to challenge Tommy Morrison for the WBO title.

I've always liked Michael 'Second to' Nunn.

I managed 90/100 in under five minutes but gave up trying to spell the City where Ezzard Charles was from.

The Hispanic causing panic

Great thread

My favourites (that spring to mind) have to be

Swamp Donkey (Sure he got a world title shot based on this nickname)
6 Heads
A Touch of Sleep
The blade
Made in Hell (I liked Roman solely for this brilliant nickname)
The Animal
Iron
The Hispanic causing Panic
Razor
Two Ton (when I first heard this nickname as a kid I thought why the f*ck has this fat pudding named himself after Tutankhamun)
The Magic Man
Second to Nunn
Smoking
The ghost with the hammer in his hand

JDC wrote:I like ''King of the Canebreaks'' - I have no idea what it mean though.

Canebrakes are a thick bamboo-like plant that grows in the rural American South. Damon Runyon gave Young Stribling the nickname in 1925 after tour in which Stribling proved to be especially popular with fans in rural areas.