BoxRec

Was just browsing around Boxrec and came across an Aussie heavyweight who went simply by the name of "Mandingo".

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_ ... &cat=boxer

What the hell? It was in the 1980s, not 1880s when strange names were commonplace.

For those who don't know, "mandingo" is crude slang for a black man's penis...

Probably was a fan of the 1970s 'blaxploitation' film of the same name starring Ken Norton - top film that was!

Carlos-Wigan wrote:Probably was a fan of the 1970s 'blaxploitation' film of the same name starring Ken Norton - top film that was!

Also a corruption of "Mandinka", a tribe of 11 million people in West Africa. Oliver may have been on the right track. Mandingo lost all of his 7 fights, 5 of the losses being by KO. Was he a pr..k of a fighter?

As goes strange names, there were fighters around at that time in Sydney with names like Kenny Last (who lost his only fight to I.M. Gentle) and Willy Standup, usually nicknamed by my old trainer Bernie Hall.

Mitch O'Hello?

That's the first name that come to my mind as well, but Mitch was later http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_ ... &cat=boxer I have herd of this 'Mandingo' before, but only as a query like this.

Trainer Bernie Hall had a fondness for giving his boxers "witty" ring names. One example was: Aki Puncher, a play on a certain Chinese pain treatment.

i fought a guy called Mandingo in Brophy's boxing tent at Birdsville races in '95, but that wouldn't have been him, I doubt he was a heavy weight.

We once had a fighter named I M Gentle D

Beltane wrote:Trainer Bernie Hall had a fondness for giving his boxers "witty" ring names. One example was: Aki Puncher, a play on a certain Chinese pain treatment.

Bernie named Charkey Ramon's brother John Ballard "Bricky Squire" because he was as hard as a brick and Squire was his middle name. John Wilson became "Soo" from the Johnny Cash song "a Boy Calld Sue" because of his long red hair. The night he had trouble taking out his earring out before a fight had Bernie shaking his head and saying "That will do me."