What's In A Nickname? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tex

Randall "Tex" Cobb was born in Bridge City, TX, and began his fighting career as a kickboxer. He switched to boxing in 1977 and fought for the WBC Heavyweight Boxing Championship in 1982 against Larry Holmes, which Cobb lost by unanimous decision.

Answer: The Bayonne Bleeder

Wepner, who spent much of his career as patsy to top contenders, got his big break in 1975, when he fought Muhammad Ali for the Heavyweight Title. Although Ali won, Wepner put up a gutsy fight and even knocked Ali down in the ninth round.

Answer: Jersey Joe Walcott

Cream took his boxing name from his boxing idol, Joe Walcott, a welterweight boxing champion from Barbados. The "Jersey" was added for his family's home state after they came to the US from St. Thomas. His boxing career was an interesting one. After spending years climbing the ranks, he lost championship bouts four times, twice each to Joe Louis and Ezzard Charles.

However, he defeated Charles on his fifth championship attempt and eventually lost the title to Marciano.

Answer: True

Hagler, a southpaw, accumulated an incredible 62-3-2 career record and was Middleweight champion for many years until he was finally stopped by Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987.

Answer: The Beast

"The Beast" certainly lived up to his name, standing toe-to-toe with Hagler in 1986, although he lost the fight. Although Mugabi never did win the Middleweight title, he did drop down a weight class and captured the WBC Jr. Middleweight title in 1989.

Answer: Smokin' Joe

Smokin' Joe Frazier is a former Heavyweight champion who won gold for the US in the 1964 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. Many boxing enthusiasts consider his three matches with Muhammad Ali the high point of boxing.

Answer: Cleveland Williams

Williams fought 92 professional boxing matches from 1951 through 1972. He lost two title matches to Sonny Liston and a later title bout against Muhammad Ali. By the way, former pro footballer and professional wrestler Ernie Ladd had the same nickname but never boxed professionally.

Answer: Night Train

Liston's most common nickname was Sonny, however Muhammad Ali dubbed him, "The Big Bear", and later accessorized the moniker to "The Big Ugly Bear". He won the Heavyweight title in 1962 with a first round knockout of Floyd Patterson. He lost the title two years later to Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) and would lose a 1965 rematch.

Many people believe both fights were fixed. He would die in Las Vegas in 1971 under unusual circumstances. "Night Train", by the way, was his favorite song.

Answer: Both of these

Cuban born Gonzalez gained the title in 1951 by beating Johnny Braxton in a 15-round decision. He held the title until 1954, losing his title to Johnny Saxton. During a lengthy career, he notched up 108 wins in 143 fights and held the distinction of never being knocked out in a pro fight. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.

Answer: Two Ton

Dominic Anthony Galento was one of boxing's dirtiest and most colorful boxers. Some of his memorable antics included fighting a bear and calling up Joe Louis to taunt him before their title bout, a fight "Two Ton" lost in four rounds. He received his nickname not for his size, but rather for telling his manager that he was late for a fight because he had to deliver two tons of ice before the match.