Ranking the 10 Best Nicknames in Boxing History

Sports fans and writers have always loved to give nicknames to their athletic heroes. And no sport outdoes the Sweet Science in this regard.

Narrowing the list of greatest boxing nicknames down to 10 means leaving out some gems. And a list that ranks nicknames is even more subjective than other rankings.

In a pound-for-pound rating of best punchers, there would be video evidence to point to and analyze.

The only basis for ranking nicknames is what sounds good to a particular person's ear.

Primo Carnera: The Ambling Alp

Primo Carnera was the size of a Klitschko when the best heavyweights in the world rarely weighed much more than 200 pounds. But similar size is as far as that resemblance goes.

Carnera won the world title from Jack Sharkey in 1933, and whether or not the fight was legitimate remains one of boxing's great unresolved mysteries. But in the absence of any sort of solid evidence, the former circus strongman deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Carnera was the least athletically gifted man to hold the heavyweight crown, at least prior to the beginning of the alphabet-soup era of titles. But his massive size and physical strength were substantial, and over time he developed decent rudimentary boxing skills to complement his height and reach.

"The Ambling Alp" was a reference both to his home nation of Italy and his plodding, slow-paced style. 

Mike McCallum: The Body Snatcher

In 1978, Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy and Jeff Goldblum starred in the science fiction classic, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The film was a smash, terrifying the movie-watching public with a story of aliens taking over the bodies of human beings.

A few years later, a talented young prospect from Jamaica named Mike McCallum launched his professional career. In short order, he was terrifying the junior middleweight division.

McCallum's nickname was a testament to his ferocious body attack. He fought during an era when it was probably unavoidable that he would be overshadowed by such legends as Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran.

He never met any of those superstars, but his brutal stoppages of great fighters like Julian Jackson and Donald Curry made him a legend in his own right, at least among hardcore fans.

Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler

Manassa is the largest town in Conejos County, Colorado, located near the border of New Mexico. But "largest town" in Conejos is a relative term.

According to the Conejos website, the county is 66 percent National Forest, with the rest devoted to farms and small towns. Manassa is a square mile and has just over a thousand people.

But the quiet little burg is linked to immortality thanks to its most famous son: the great heavyweight champion, Jack Dempsey.

As a description, "mauler" fit Dempsey perfectly. He was violence personified in the ring.

He attacked opponents like a fistic whirlwind. The video captures his destruction of champion Jess Willard, the 6'6” former cowboy.

More than 80 years later, it remains one of the most brutal knockouts in heavyweight championship history.

Pernell Whitaker: Sweet Pea

Pernell Whitaker is the finest defensive fighter of my lifetime. The list of fighters who would have been able to beat him on his best night at either 135 or 147 pounds can be debated, but there is no question that it would be short.

In 1993, he handed Julio Cesar Chavez what should have been the first loss of the Mexican legend's career. In one of the worst decisions of all time, the fight was ruled a draw by the judges.

But Whitaker outclassed the Hall of Famer all night long.

His defensive prowess was so dazzling that it allowed him to be that rare fighter who could entertain crowds without being a dominant puncher or a wild-eyed brawler.

"Sweet Pea" is a uniquely gentle nickname for the brutal sport of boxing, but Whitaker was a unique talent. His career knockout percentage may not be that high, but many of his opponents looked so foolish trying to catch up with him that they might have preferred to end the fight asleep.

Thomas Hearns: The Motor City Cobra

Thomas Hearns had two famous nicknames, and both of them fit him perfectly. He was sometimes called "The Hitman."

It was a kind of persona he put on, like a superhero whose secret power was a devastating right hand.

But "The Motor City Cobra" suited him just as well. A cobra was the perfect animal to describe Hearns. He exhibited serpentine grace the way he moved coolly outside of his opponent's range before uncoiling his ruthless and sudden attack.

Hearn's inclusion on this list is the result of his hometown of Detroit having a cool-sounding nickname to begin with. Heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles was known as "The Cincinnati Cobra."

But to my ear, Motor City Cobra just has a better ring to it.

Jimmy Wilde: The Mighty Atom

Jimmy Wilde was the greatest flyweight champion of all time. The son of Welsh mining stock, he was 5'2” tall, with punching power far beyond what would be expected for a 108-pound man.

His career spanned from 1911 to 1923, when scientists were just beginning to discover what an atom even was. But whoever first tagged Wilde with the nickname had an intuitive understanding of the concept.

In his career, he knocked out 99 of 134 opponents. Wilde was very much a tiny particle with explosive potential.

Roberto Duran: Hands of Stone

Roberto Duran was a born fighter, and under the tutelage of Freddie Brown and Ray Arcel, he developed into a virtuoso boxer as well.

But all of his success was built upon his incredible punching power. He was a thudding, punishing slugger. His knockout ratio is only 59 percent, but he spent the last 20 years of his career fighting mostly larger men.

In his dominant run through the lightweight division in the 1970s, his opponents rarely made it to the final bell.

The greatest nicknames are like poetry. They invariably sound best in their native language. "Hands of Stone" is a colorful nickname for Duran.

But "Manos de Piedre" has real flair.

Benny Leonard: The Ghetto Wizard

Although their careers were separated by half a century, Benny Leonard and Roberto Duran shared a trainer in Ray Arcel. They also share the distinction of being two of the men who always come up in any educated conversation about the greatest lightweight boxers of all time.

But Leonard was a very different fighter than Duran. Duran had very good defense and boxing skills, but he was a furious brawler at heart.

Raised in the Jewish slums of early 20th century Manhattan, Leonard was a self-described “mama's boy” and an intellectual fighter. His style was designed to minimize punishment and avoid coming home to his mother with a bruised-up face.

Still, "The Ghetto Wizard" fought in a tough era, and in his prime he was in the ring more than a dozen times a year. Mama's boy or not, he made his fortune beating other men up.

Alexis Arguello: The Explosive Thin Man

Alexis Arguello was possibly the greatest super featherweight of all time. At 5'10”, he was also improbably tall for the division. The power he generated in his thin body was shocking.

At 130 pounds, he overwhelmed nearly everyone he faced.

In 1982, he moved up to junior welterweight to challenge the relentless Aaron Pryor. In one of the greatest fights in boxing history, Arguello succumbed to a TKO in Round 14.

A win would have made him the first four-division champion in history.

After retiring, he became involved in Nicaraguan politics and served for a time as the mayor of Managua. In July, 2009, he died tragically from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, though some have suggested that foul play may have been involved.

As with Manos de Piedre, "El Flaco Explosivio" just sounds slicker in Spanish.

Archie Moore: The Old Mongoose

My preference for Archie Moore's nickname above all others could be a direct result of how much I always enjoyed the cartoon version of Rudyard Kipling's short story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" as a boy.

A mongoose looks like just any other cuddly little rodent. In reality, it is a cunning and dangerous fighter that is able to take out the deadliest snakes.

It was the perfect nickname for the ageless and amiable Moore, who developed into a beloved mainstream celebrity while simultaneously recording more verified knockouts than any other fighter in history.

Moore started his career as a middleweight and became a top contender at 160. In his late 30s, he captured the light heavyweight crown and defended it well into his 40s while also campaigning on the side as a heavyweight contender.