Max Boxing - Other Boxing News - Hughes And Davies Added To Newport Undercard Tweet Hughes And Davies Added To Newport Undercard Warrior Promotions stage a show at Newport Leisure Centre on Saturday, October 10, headlined by former-WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli. The undercard features rising stars Zack Davies, a quarter finalist at last summer’s Commonwealth Games, and Alex Hughes. Hughes, a 21 year-old super-middleweight from Maerdy, is trained by Gary Lockett and earlier this year, signed a promotional deal with Frank Warren. He’s won all five fights (three inside the distance) and according to Lockett, a straight-talking fighting man, he’s "a special talent." Hughes looks sure to be well supported next month. The fight in Newport will be his first in Wales since his professional debut in May and Hughes says "everyone in Maerdy is buzzing.I get unbelievable support wherever I go and I wanted to get on this show so much." His home village is around a mile from Tylorstown, where boxing legend Jimmy Wilde emerged from a century ago to be a dominant world flyweight champion.

Wilde, known as the Ghost With The Hammer In His Hand, is widely regarded as the best flyweight in history and Hughes is also aiming high. "There wouldn’t be any point boxing if I didn’t want to win a world title," he said, "but as long as I give it my best shot, I will be happy." As an amateur, Hughes says he won "48 or 49" of his 54 bouts and won Schools and Junior honours. "I didn’t get picked for the Welsh team," he said, "and I don’t know why. "I was offered a trial with GB when I was 17, but I didn’t fancy it. I had met Gary by then and had decided to go professional." Hughes had to wait to get his license after problems with his brain scan and says he "spent two years in the gym learning from the boys." "The boys" at Lockett’s gym included Gavin Rees and Liam Williams and when he finally made his professional debut last year, Hughes showed how much he’d learned from them and Lockett as he coolly broke down tough-as-old-boots journeyman Mark Till in four rounds.

His talents were seen by a wider audience in February when Eurosport screened a four-round points win over Deividas Sajauka and last time out, Hughes was matched tough with Sheffield southpaw Wayne Reed. Hughes won the six rounder on points, but it wasn’t easy. Lockett said: "Alex tried too hard to take him out with one shot, got tired and had to work hard in the last three rounds to keep Wayne off him. "It was the best thing that could have happened to Alex. Now he knows what it takes to be a professional boxer." Hughes could have pursued a career in rugby union. "I come from a rugby family," he said. "I played at scrum half or No 10 and was offered trials with the (Cardiff) Blues, but I didn’t want it to get in the way of my boxing." Hughes was just eight years old when he followed a group of friends to the local boxing gym, but he didn’t have to leave his house for sparring ! "I’ve got two bigger brothers," he said, "and I had some beatings growing up. It was tough, but they leave me alone these days." A grudge fight has been added to the Newport bill.

Darren Pryce will meet Ricky Leach in a rematch after a war of words on Twitter. For further boxing discussion, contact SecondsOut on Facebook. Also, be sure to "LIKE" the SecondsOut Facebook page. BBC - Wales - Arts - Film - Sport in Welsh film Sport in Welsh film Sport in Welsh film Last updated: 27 October 2009 Sport, especially boxing, soccer and rugby union, have been staples of Welsh films virtually since the movies began - but it is hardly surprising that the fight game took pride of place up to the 1920s, with Wales boasting so many World and British champions. The first sports film shot in Wales was a boxing match at a Cardiff Military tournament in August 1896 by Birt Acres and the footage is now thought to have been found in a recent discovery of several of the Barnet-based filmmaker's short films.

The oldest extant soccer film in the world was shot by Rhyl's Arthur Cheetham at the Blackburn Rovers-West Bromwich Albion match in 1898 (though the images look suspiciously like out takes), and the earliest surviving football international film anywhere is Wales v Ireland, 1906, at the Racecourse ground, Wrexham, made by Mitchell and Kenyon, Blackburn. Four of the eight goals scored (in a 4-4 draw) are captured. The teams are seen clambering over a bench to enter the field and certain match officials wear caps. The great Welsh goalie LR Roose is prominent in footage but legendary Wales winger, spindly, matchstick-chewing Billy Meredith who played for both Manchester City and Manchester United in his career, was noticeably absent. He was suspended facing match-fixing allegations. A few surviving images from the Wales v England match of 1912 (result: 0-2) may help compensate, shot from Meredith's wing as he fires in crosses.

The Welshman also appeared in a fictional feature, The Ball of Fortune (1926), with British silent star Mabel Poulton, but only one minute is known to exist with Meredith leaving opponents flatfooted in a dizzy dribble. A Rhyl Town v Amateurs match, 1898, apparently shot by Rhyl's Arthur Cheetham, seemingly doesn't survive and documented films of Aberdare-Porth (1903) and Cardiff-Swansea (1905) are among the extensive soccer 'casualties' lost films of early silent days. There is newsreel footage of Freddie Keenor and his Cardiff team making history as the only Welsh club to win the FA Cup - beating Arsenal in 1927 1-0 at Wembley - and shots of the ensuing celebrations in Cardiff. Evidence of rugby union international footage of Wales' matches in 1901 and 1902 and film of the Cardiff Horse show, a popular crowd attraction, from 1902, 1906 and 1908 is confined to sketchy newspaper references.

The Pwllheli Horse show was also screened in 1902 by Fred E Young, estates manager for Solomon Andrews, Cardiff's tramways king. Back in 1897 boxing on screen had pulled in crowds in Wales, for the World Heavyweight title fight between Cornwall's Bob Fitzimmons and America's James J (Gentleman Jim) Corbett, shown at Oswald Stoll's Philharmonic Hall by the Veriscope projector, with a lecturer explaining events (also a common feature for years, of silent fiction films). In 1899 Chas. W Poole's United Amusements screened, at Swansea's Albert Hall, the Fitzimmons-James J Jeffries fight at Coney Island, New York. As two- and three-reel fiction films developed it wasn't surprising that a clutch of boxing champions including the world's best flyweight, Rhondda's Jimmy Wilde - 'The Tylorstown Terror' - and 'Ghost with a Hammer in his Hand' James Corbett, Bombardier Billy Wells and Jess Willard, should play leads in silent dramas.

Wilde starred in A Pitboy's Romance (1917) directed by AE Coleby and Arthur Rooke. This British film had some screenings, but is now long lost. Enthusiasm for films featuring actual bouts by Welsh boxers continued to be immense and in 1907 an audience at Cardiff's Andrews Hall cheered lustily when city hero Peerless Jim Driscoll , later a British featherweight Lonsdale belt winner, was shown polishing off former bantamweight world champion Joe Bowker with a Sunday punch in London some days before. Driscoll also appeared demonstrating his skills in The Art of Boxing documentary in 1920. Pontypridd's Freddie Welsh 's 1909 fight with Johnny Summers and 1910 winning non-title contest with Jim Driscoll were caught on film, together with Welsh's British title fight with Jack Daniels and his bout with Packy McFarland the same year. His 1914 lightweight world championship-winning fight with Willie Ritchie also survives. Certain Jimmy Wilde films exist, including his final World championship defeat, after years as title-holder, at the hands of Pancho Villa in 1923.

Film historians still seek the Webster Cartoons' animation short of Wilde from the same year. Film of another Welsh pugilist hero Jack Petersen 's fights in the 1930s, including celebrated battles with Len Harvey, have been donated to the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, Aberystwyth. The images of Tommy Farr 's brave, unavailing battle with Joe Louis for the World heavyweight crown in 1937 are also, thankfully, extant. The Welsh passion for rugby union - evident in dozens of archival films and clips from broadcasters over the decades - permeates Marc Evans ' lively if flawed S4C feature film Ymadawiad Arthur (Arthur's Departure) where he ingeniously married this enthusiasm of his almost modern hero to Arthurian mythology. Fictional Welsh comedies revolving around sport include the BBC's 1978 feature-length Grand Slam, director John Hefin, with Hugh Griffith , Windsor Davies et al.

and Ealing's Run For Your Money (1949), with Meredith Edwards and Donald Houston as miners who win a competition for tickets to an England v Wales Twickenham international but almost predictably never see the match when waylaid by a spiv crook and his moll. Ffilmiau'r Nant, of Caernarfon, made several series of their S4C comedy comedy C'Mon Midffild (C'Mon Midfield) (from 1988 onwards) - and, ultimately, a feature of the same title (1992). The company earned accolades for their 1992 S4C feature Cylch Gaed (In The Blood), firmly in the tradition of boxing movies, with naïve hopefuls trying to fight their way out of the poverty trap and falling prey to corruption. This unassuming film had its own pleasing conviction and the lead Rhys Richards landed a BAFTA Cymru Best Actor award. The most compelling fight documentary from Wales remains Claire Pollak's 1986 Turning Pro, about south Wales valleys youths lured by penury and family problems into the professional ring.

It's a raw-edged film tackling wife-beating issues and including astonishing footage of a one raw recruit to the pro ranks at ringside talking to camera of his shock discovery that his opponent has been switched at the last minute. Bookmark this page: BBC SPORT | SPORTS TALK | Wales' greatest boxers Sunday, 14 April, 2002, 15:44 GMT 16:44 UK Wales' greatest boxers Who is Wales' greatest boxer of all time? Jimmy Wilde has made number one in our list of the top 10 Welsh boxers of all time . Do you agree with the list? Send your memories of the greatest Welsh boxers. Gary Lockett is on the up Paul Kerr, Stirling Scotland I'm glad to see Jimmy Wilde at the top of the list, partly because of his record and partly because (albeit distantly) I'm related to him. Dai Davies was my great-great grandfather. He was Jimmy's trainer and father in-law. Steve Robinson is not fit to clean Jimmy's boots. Jimmy fought well over 500 fights, including both professional and 'boxing booth' fights.

Jimmy only lost four out of 149 professional bouts, with 75 knockouts. Due to lack of competition, Jimmy often fought men that were much bigger - often stones bigger, than himself. He's one of only three Brits in the American Boxing Hall of Fame, and widely regarded as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all time, with many regarding him as the greatest. Some people have too short a memory. Chris Davies, UK Gary Lockett is on the up and if you ask me I say he is the sleeping giant of the bunch. Watch this space. Paul Kerr, Stirling Scotland I haven't seen Robbie Regan's name mentioned one time, why not? He won the British title on only his 8th fight and went on to win a Lonsdale belt outright and add a European title which he defended twice, he also was a two time world champion before fate dealt him such a cruel blow. Beautiful to watch him box very fast hands and an absolutely brilliant boxer, he was the real deal!!! Colin Turley, South Wales The top four are absolutely right, but old-timers Tom Thomas and Johnny Basham should be in the top 10.

I agree that Steve Robinson should just about make the list as well. Just outside the top 10, Eddie Thomas, Dai Dower and Brian Curvis. David Richards, Pembroke, Wales. Dafydd Carlin will be the best Welsh boxer of all time Tom Hamilton, N Ireland What about Steve Robinson? He may have been outclassed by Naz, but he still had a very long run of wins. Plus, the way he made McMillan eat his words should get him in the list alone. Also remember that he went out and won on the road against more than one local hero. L S Attwood, Wales Watch this space and keep your eye on Garry Locket. He will bring home to Wales the WBC belt. Jay Siadankay, England Maybe not at the moment, maybe not next year, but by the end of his career, Dafydd Carlin will be the best Welsh boxer of all time. OK, you might not have heard of him now, but you soon will do, according to some of the most respected names in boxing, including Frank Maloney.

Tom Hamilton, N Ireland I think Jimmy Wilde, "the ghost with a hammer in his hand", is a great choice for top Welsh boxer. It was a long time ago now but this guy had over a hundred fights and rarely lost. He should be better known than he is, I'm sure his life would make a great film! Derren, UK I'm surprised that you couldn't find a place for Steve Robinson on the list Pete Williams, Sheffield I can't grumble about Jimmy Wilde being top, and weight for weight Jimmy must be the greatest ever worldwide. But I would put Tommy Farr in at number two. Any fighter that went the distance with Joe Louis deserves that much. Mal Walker, Australia No room for Steve Robinson? Having turned a journeyman career round he made many defences against the best in his division and on several occassions won when he was the under-dog. He was poorly treated as champion by the WBO in the whole Naz saga. On the night, Naseem would have beaten anyone. Disappointed that Newport's Dick Richardson, a former European heavyweight champion, didn't get a shout either! Current crop of Welsh boxers offer much promise, especially Lockett.

Mark Phillips, Caerwent, Wales I'm surprised that you couldn't find a place for Steve Robinson on the list. He might have been outclassed by Naz, but his run of wins after claiming the title was superb. He was ready to take on them all, and there were some memorable victories over the likes of Colin McMillan. Pete Williams, Sheffield Freddie Welsh should have been number one with Driscoll at two. Driscoll's skills were unmatched, but he never got a world crown. You give Welsh grief for his awkwardness, but that was part of his fight plan. It was enough to frustrate Driscoll when the two fought - that led directly to Driscoll's disqualification, and Welsh winning the fight that decided the best Welsh fighter of all time. Dave Dominguez, Mumbles, Wales BBC SPORT | Sports Talk | The best sporting nicknames? Monday, 6 January, 2003, 12:32 GMT The best sporting nicknames? The World Darts Championships showcased not only the world's finest darts athletes, but also some of sport's greatest nicknames. But who has the greatest moniker of all?

John "Darth Maple" Part may have been the top darts player of the week, but the names of some of his rivals will live even longer in the memory. If prizes were given out for nicknames alone, surely the likes of Steve 'The Bronze Adonis' Beaton and Les 'McDanger' Wallace would be challenging for honours. Feature: All in the name of darts A stonking nickname can often hide a lack of sporting ability (think Eric 'The Eel' and Eddie 'The Eagle'), making it a crucial asset for pub darts players everywhere. It begs the suggestion that every sportsperson should have a moniker; what about Niall 'Mother Teresa' Quinn or Alan 'Interesting' Shearer? Tell us about the best pub darts nicknames you've heard, and send us your moniker suggestions for other sportspeople. This debate is now closed. A selection of your e-mails appear below. Thought I heard Tony Green comment upon the likeness between Embassy rookie Robert Wagner and Rambo. If we extended this to another Stallone tough-guy, could we possibly have, wait for it, "The Rocky of the Oche"?

Alastair Duncan, UK Has to be the nickname of the retired Wallabies captain, John Eales. NIcknamed "Nobody" - because Nobody's perfect! Cormac Thompson, England When Neil Pointon was at Everton he was known as 'Dissa Pointon', somewhat harshly! Steve P, UK Appollo Creed was also known as 'The Dancing Destroyer'. Papa Lazarou, UK A fave of mine that has applied to many a striker over the years is the Jigsaw - always goes to pieces in the box. GB, Eng (Scot in exile) I've heard Paul 'Bagpuss' Durkin Tom D, UK Cricket nicknames spring to mind. Firstly Mark Waugh who was not considered for the Australian team until three years after his brother Steve. He was called Afghanistan (the forgotten Waugh)! David Pearce, England While travelling it is easy to see a theme appearing here in NZ as regards their national teams: All Blacks (rugby), All Whites (football), Small Blacks (youth), Crawl Blacks (swimming), Black Caps (cricket), and my personal favourite...the Tall Blacks (basketball).

Malcolm Webbon, New Zealand (Originally UK) Robbo once pointed out the stupidity of snooker player Anthony Hamiton's nickname. He is the Robin Hood of Snooker; why? Because he is from Nottingham. Great. Scott, England Don't forget the officials here...referee Collina is also known as Uncle Fester, and I've also heard Paul 'Bagpuss' Durkin. Tom D, UK Try these: Phil 'The Cat' Tufnell - when he's not playing he's always asleep in the locker room. Martin 'Chariots' Offiah the rugby league player. Harbinger Singh - the 'Turbanator'. The most boring snooker match ever - Eddie 'the Snail' Charlton v Cliff 'the Grinder' Thorburn. Cliff's comments after losing in the early hours - "he just ground me down"! Phil L., England In an interview Kieron Dyer was asked if he had a nickname at Newcastle. He sheepishly looked at the floor and said "Pinhead. The boys call me pinhead. Alan started it." So funny. He was obviously hurting inside.

Neil, UK Ben "The Peanut" Binnersley and Sam "Twelve Pint Messiah" Williams Kevin Vaughan, England Some of the better nicknames have come from the footy terraces. Robbie "Toxteth Terrier" Fowler, Jan "The Great Dane" Molby but the favourite has to be for the rotund keeper, Ray Clemence - "The Flying Pig". Chris Peddie, Liverpool, UK Heartbreak Kid Luke Chadwick? Kev, England There are some top nicknames in the pro darting area but names like Ben "The Peanut" Binnersley and Sam "Twelve Pint Messiah" Williams in the amateur arena are of a higher quality than the pro's, even if the dart playing is not quite as good!! Kevin Vaughan, England "Azza the Indian Gazza", guess who's that for? Yeah, the former Indian captain Azharudin! Even "Gangs" for Ganguly and "The Car" for Tendulkar are cool! Sandeep Kutty, India I'm sure the old boxer Jimmy Wilde was known as...wait for it..."The Ghost with a hammer in his hand"!! Whatever happened to short and sweet.

Chris Gray, England Steve "Tugger" Waugh or "Shrek" for Darren Lehmann. Lumpy, Australia One of my favourites is Australian rugby player John Eales' nickname - Nobody. He's called that because nobody's perfect. And Phil Neville should also be called Albert Steptoe from now on. Tom Heywood, Britain "One Size", the nickname for Fitz Hall, is a cracking nickname Jla, England There are some sporting musicians like Duke Ellington of Wigan FC and an australian bowler named Dizzy Gillespie, as Shane Warne calls him. Len, uk How about the boxer Robert "Lobster" Thermidor? That one always made me crack up. Graham, Denmark Colin Monk should have the nickname 'the Goldfish'. Just watch his mouth as he throws. All the best, (sorry Colin). Pete Rogers, The Netherlands Roonaldo has to be up there, ROOOOOOOOOONEY!!! Rob, England "One Size", the nickname for Fitz Hall, is a cracking nickname, shame he doesn't play for someone else other than Oldham.

Jla, England Ex-Rangers midfielder Jorg Albertz had a belter: The Hammer, because he could hit the ball so hard it was like a hammer. Richard, Scotland Bryan 'Pop' Robson, also known as "Captain Marvel"... (you have to follow it with a "woo woo" when you say it though). Or Cantona - Le Enfant Terrible. Surely without doubt, even better than darts, best nicknames are in WWF wrestling...Stone Cold, The Rock, The Undertaker, Big Poppa Pump, Genetic Freak...don't get better than that. Irish The Bogger, Planet Neptar Mark Waugh was the second twin to be picked and was known as Afghanistan, the forgotten Waugh. His brother had so many clothes he was known as Drobe. Colin, UK Massimo Taibi whilst at Utd had the best nickname - "the blind Venecian" Tony, Canada John Eales the legendary Aussie second row was called "Nobody" as in "Nobody's perfect". Our rugby team has a centre called "Cilla" because he always "steps inside". Steve Perry, UK Ronny 'The Rocket' Rosenthal!!

That hat-trick for Spurs v Southampton (yes they have beaten them before) in the Cup will always secure him as the Rocket in my mind! Chris Lunn, England Massimo Taibi whilst at Utd had the best nickname - "the blind Venecian". His blunders made Seaman look like the pinnacle of professionalism. Tony, Canada Apparently, the New Zealand national basketball team (who, by the way, did exceptionally well in the last World Cup), call themselves "the Tall Blacks"! To me, that wins the biscuit by a distance! Harilaos, Greek (living in the UK) The best sporting nicknames at the moment are Juan 'the little witch' Veron and Javier 'the rabbit' Saviola! Pat, Uk How about Ernest "M16" Mateen, the US boxer, another Apollo Creed nickname, "the Master of Disaster", and the old US boxer of the eighties James "The Heat" Kinchen. But the ridiculous ones have to be from rugby league's Superleague. Has anyone ever seen a Rhino in Leeds, a Wolf in Warrington or a Bull in Bradford? Get real.

Shaun B, UK Bergkamp's "The Non-Flying Dutchman" has to be up there. Dennis Rodman's nickname "The Worm", or simply "Worm" is very descriptive and insightful as well. Stephen, USA Gilbert Brown of the Green Bay Packers.......he is called 'biscuit' as he is a biscuit shy of 300lbs Dave, USA Cowdenbeath's nickname of the Blue Brazil just for the sheer irony of it all. Ollie, Belfast Beefers Fan, Ireland It's got to be Phil 'Basking Shark' Neville - his mouth is exactly the same as one of them Tom, UK Solksjaer is known as The Baby-faced Assassin which is fairly bizarre. Furthermore, his father was a professional wrestler! Dave, UK What with Hurricane Higgins, Whirlwind White and even the Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan, how can Steve "The Nugget" Davis really compete? Jas, Wales It's got to be Phil 'Basking Shark' Neville - his mouth is exactly the same as one of them. Fact. Tom, UK Another great is Paul "The Okey Cokey" Okey. What a scary nickname for a boxer!

Mind you, it's better the Audley "A force" Harrison!! Luke, UK It has to be the names the Aussies give their sporting teams. A few gems are: Socceroos, Hockeyroos, Joeys (youth team I think), Olyroos, Young Socceroos, Matilda's. What the hell is going on down there...??? Simon, England Roy 'The Saint' Keane Allen, UK What about one for David Seaman - David 'Aeroplane' Seaman - although that one might go over his head!! Simon, UK 'Butter Finger' Barthez. Critics have now been silenced with his truly world class saves, but the name was hilarious. 'Wheeler Dealer' to Harry Redknapp who, although he makes some very good purchases, can be known for his buying blunders such as Marco Boogers at West Ham. James, UK David James - 'Calamity James'. So true! Andy , England On the darts theme, the one that always creases me up is the Dracula-obsessed Ted 'The Count' Hankey.

Mo Baig, UK Surely The Fridge has to be one of the strangest nicknames. Luke, UK 'Right Angle' Ray Wilkins (or Ray 'The Crab' Wilkins), thus named due to his inability to pass the ball anywhere other than sideways. Delme Jones, UK I remember Apollo Creed in Rocky being called "The Count of Monte Fisto". Quite amusing. From the NBA you have Karl "The Mailman" Malone, and the now retired Charles Barkley aka "The round mound of rebound". Jonthan Michaud, UK Tim "Sex Machine" Henman Alisdair, Scotland I'd heard that Steve Beaton was the 'Adonis of darts'! By the same argument should Martin Keown be the 'Adonis of football'? Brownie, UK The Best-Ever British Boxing Nicknames | Bleacher Report The Best-Ever British Boxing Nicknames Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Associated Press David Haye and Gavin Rees 8.0K 13 Comments Perhaps no sport is as linked with nicknames as boxing, so much so that when Sylvester Stallone penned Rocky, he gave no fewer than five to fictional heavyweight champion Apollo Creed .

Fighters have always attracted monikers, going back to 19th-century champ Nonpareil Dempsey and beyond, but really took off around the 1920s, spearheaded by that era's heavyweight king Jack Dempsey—"The Manassa Mauler." British boxing was not always so enamoured with the nickname, associating it more with the hoopla and razzmatazz of the US, where it was a sport for the press pack to coin a nom-de-guerre for upcoming contenders. Plenty of British champions such as Benny Lynch, Ken Buchanan and John Conteh never attracted a moniker that stuck. It's maybe not entirely coincidental that it was in the 1980s, the decade of the Big Bang and rampant commercialism, that the UK truly embraced the nickname. The likes of "Ragamuffin Man" Lloyd Honeyghan and "Clones Cyclone" Barry McGuigan won world titles and almost edge their way into this list. Consequently, this countdown is dominated by fighters of more recent vintage or those who fought on American soil and picked up a nickname there.

Among those who just missed out are Sheffield super-bantamweight Kid Galahad, lightweight contender Anthony "Million Dollar" Crolla and the always enigmatic early 2000s light-middleweight Richard "The Secret" Williams—a name that divides opinion but lodges itself in the memory. And now, here are the 15 best-ever nicknames in British boxing. Years Active: 1989-2003 Record: 41-2-1 with 32 KOs Early in his career, Lewis was known as "The Lion," but later on he coined his own more distinctive moniker as "The Pugilist Specialist." It fit Lewis' self-styling as a cerebral fighter who talked of his fondness for chess, and although this didn't always go down well with American audiences, he ultimately emerged as the king of the 1990s heavyweights, avoided by Riddick Bowe before defeating Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson. This nickname may not inspire fear in the heart of opponents but suited a fighter who could systematically take opponents apart, ultimately registering wins over every man he faced.

Years Active: 1986-2002 Record: 31-12-1 with 11 KOs Pictured above is Silky Jones on the left in a British title fight against one of the worst nicknamed Brits—"Spice Boy" Ryan Rhodes. Before footballers had "good tekkers" or other such recent abominations, they had "silky skills." Paul Jones brought the term to boxing even if wasn't always as silky as he may have made out with 12 losses on his record, four by way of knockout. However, he did claim the WBO light-middleweight title back in 1995 with a huge upset win over Verno Phillips, a great effort on the night and what remains his claim to fame. With a distinctively British use of the word "silky" and the telling fact that he was often referred to in print as just Silky Jones, so that some may not even know his first name, this has to rank highly. File alongside "Sugar" Ray Robinson and "Mantequilla" Jose Napoles.

Years Active: 1901-1913, 1919 Record: 53-3-5 with 35 KOs (plus 8 "newspaper decisions") Jim Driscoll wasn't literally undefeated, but like Nonpareil Dempsey before him, he lost very few fights at a time when top fighters took more risks and thus suffered more defeats. Driscoll had lost just once when in 1909 he beat world featherweight champion Abe Attell on points in a fight where it was stipulated that only a KO could win the Welsh challenger the crown. Despite winning 10 straight fights on US soil from late 1918 to early the next year, he never got the proper title shot he deserved but did claim the British and European belts. On the back of his excellent form in America, it was the legendary cowboy and U.S. newspaperman Bat Masterson who dubbed him "Peerless Jim," a label he thoroughly deserved.

Years Active: 2003- Record: 23-12 with 12 KOs Losing six of his first 11 fights, Ovill McKenzie was never supposed to get anywhere in the sport and hasn't benefited from major promotional backing at any point in his career. His nickname, "The Upsetter," recognises that he is reduced to the role of the away fighter looking to spring a surprise on the local favourite—but it's a role he has relished with notable successes. He nearly did for future world-title challenger Tony Bellew in Liverpool back in 2010, flooring Bellew hard in both of the opening two rounds before the Liverpudlian rallied. After losing a rematch with Bellew, he has bounced back, latterly as a cruiserweight holding both British and Commonwealth titles with five of his last six fights being early KO wins. London's Tony Conquest and County Durham's Jon-Lewis Dickinson are the two most recent victims to be upset in their backyards by McKenzie.

Years Active: 1926-1953 Record: 84-34-17 with 24 KOs In the 100-year span between the two undisputed British heavyweight champions—Bob Fitzsimmons and Lennox Lewis—Tommy Farr probably came closest to claiming the crown. He gave champion Joe Louis an unexpectedly tough night at Yankee Stadium in 1937, winning several rounds and going the distance whilst taking his own fair share of licks. It was his impressive performances on a US tour that continued into 1938 that won him the respect of US sports-writers, which has often been in short supply for British heavies, and with it the sobriquet of "The Tonypandy Terror." This evocative name was typical of the early 20th century and heavyweights such as "The Ambling Alp" Primo Carnera, "The Boston Gob" Jack Sharkey and "The Pottawatomie Giant" Jess Willard. Farr was a British champion and registered a win over former world champion Max Baer.

Years Active: 1978-1992, 1996-1998 Record: 48-6 with 28 KOs It has become something of a truism that Herol Graham was one of the best British fighters never to win a world-title, dropping a split-decision to Mike McCallum in 1989, knocked out by Julian Jackson the next year and stopped late against Charles Brewer on his comeback in 1997. The British WBO champions of the early 1990s, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank, were none too keen to face Graham, seeing him as a high-risk, low-reward opponent. His nickname, "Bomber," was deliberately misleading, characterising him as a guy who would be looking for a big punch when he was in actuality a defensive maestro who could frustrate opponents with his unorthodox style and lightning reflexes. The name stuck firm, however, and to this day he is mentioned in print and on the airwaves as just "Bomber" Graham. Latterly Tony Bellew has adopted the same moniker but with less resonance.

Years Active: 2008- Record: 10-8 with 9 KOs Larry Olubamiwo is proof that a great nickname can only take you so far. A confessed comicbook fan, he adopted "The War Machine" from an Iron Man character. He was seen as something of a prospect, despite turning pro aged 30, and won 10 of his first 11 fights, all but one of them by KO. The former bodybuilder's limitations were brutally exposed in 2011 at the York Hall when John McDermott finished him inside the first round. Olubamiwo hasn't won since and sullied his reputation by failing a drugs test in 2012 before admitting to using 13 banned substances. Perhaps it's a shame that a name that conjures so much didn't find a better home, but it's a really good one and deserves its high placing.

Years Active: 1911-1921, 1923 Record: 132-3-1 with 99 KOs (plus 8 "newspaper decisions") Jimmy Wilde is arguably the best-ever British boxer pound-for-pound and was the world flyweight champion from 1916 to 1923. He attracted several nicknames including "The Mighty Atom" and "The Tylorstown Terror," but the most pictorial remains "The Ghost with the Hammer in His Hand." For much of his career, Wilde weighed in below 100 pounds when the flyweight limit is 112. At 5'2.5", he looked small and emaciated yet he still racked up an incredible 99 career knockouts. In 1999, The Ring ranked him the 13th-best fighter of the 20th century across all weight classes.

Years Active: 1904-1915 Record: 19-8-1 with 16 KOs Nearly 100 years before there was "Iron" Mike Tyson and Paul "Scrap Iron" Ryan, there was a Yorkshire heavyweight called Iron Hague. He won the British and European heavyweight titles in 1906 by first-round KO but lost against pound-for-pound legend Sam Langford in the same year, the American fighter himself memorably dubbed "The Boston Tar Baby." According to local historians from Mexborough, Hague's hometown, his was a childhood nickname bestowed on him for his iron self will and the ability to take severe corporal punishment without betraying any pain—good preparation for the prize ring. Iron Hague is not to be confused with his namesake and fellow Yorkshireman William Hague, the former Foreign Secretary and one-time Conservative leader. Years Active: 1987-1996 Record: 42-5-1 with 35 KOs Few fighters have embodied their nickname better than '"he Dark Destroyer" Nigel Benn, one of the flat-out most intimidating British boxers ever.

Benn came to destroy or be destroyed and only nine of his 48 fights went the distance—he was memorably outlasted by domestic rivals Michael Watson in 1989 and Chris Eubank in 1990. The Ilford man is notable for his willingness to travel and take on tough challenges, winning world titles on the road in two weight classes, seeing off Doug DeWitt, Iran Barkley and Mauro Galvano along the way. Benn was part of a glamorous era for British boxing when fights on ITV brought in more than 10 million viewers on several occasions . With his flash suits, menacing persona and impressive KO ratio, Benn was a popular favourite who more than lived up to his billing. Years Active: 2002-2012 Record: 26-2 with 24 KOs Some things are just meant to be. A big-swinging, big-punching cruiserweight turned heavyweight with the surname of Haye could only become "The Hayemaker." Incredibly the clip above shows that Haye made it many years in boxing before the lightning bolt struck and the seemingly most obvious of nicknames was adopted.

A pre-national treasure status Clare Balding makes some terrible alternative suggestions as well. Haye says in the interview, "I'm not going to use a nickname," which is probably the first of many occasions that he told the British public one thing and then did another. "The Hayemaker," now nearly 34, has not fought since 2012, but if he can return to fitness, there are some big domestic fights available against young up-and-comers Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Years Active: 1910-1925 Record: 41-1 with 34 KOs Technically this is not a nickname but a military rank because Stepney heavyweight Billy Wells was a bombardier in the British Army before he became a professional boxer, with the perfect moniker already at hand. Wells followed Iron Hague as British heavyweight champion and also scored a win over Gunner Moir, who held the rank below bombardier in the Royal Artillery. After the outbreak of World War One, many of Wells' opponents had military-inflected names such as Guardsman Charlie Penwill, Soldier Jones and the less-than-fearsome-sounding Bandsman Dick Rice.

Wells would not have much success on the international stage, twice being knocked out in European title challenges against France's Georges Carpentier who had the singular nom-de-guerre of "The Orchid Man." Years Active: 1992-2002 Record: 36-1 with 31 KOs "You know I bring drama, excitement, you know me, Larry—from my wicked entrance, my flip over the ropes, to a knock-out." So the Prince summed himself up speaking to HBO in 2000. It was often remarked in the 1990s, a time when the Royal Family was perceived to be out of favour, that Prince Naseem was the most popular prince in the land, even if he wasn't too high up in the line of succession. The long-time world featherweight king elevated himself with his own title early in his boxing career, a typical act of bravado from a showman who ran on confidence.

The story may well be apocryphal, but when Hamed arrived in America for his first showcase fight against Kevin Kelley (pictured) with a huge HBO advertising spend behind him, it was said that some US observers genuinely believed he was descended from Yemeni royalty. Such was the pervasiveness and brilliance of the nickname Prince Naseem, a grandiose moniker which Hamed earned the right to bear with his hugely entertaining boxing career. All boxer records from BoxRec . Jimmy Wilde | Boxing Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Jimmy Wilde's birth certificate shows he was born in the Taff Bargoed Valley community of Pentwyn Deintyr ) (now known as the Graig), Quakers Yard , Treharris , in the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil but his parents later moved to the village of Tylorstown in the Rhondda Valley when Wilde was twelve years old. [2] Wilde was the son of a coal miner and worked in the coal pits himself. Wilde was small enough to crawl through gullies impassable to most of his colleagues.

Wilde started boxing at the age of sixteen in fairground boxing booths, where crowds were amazed by his toughness and ability to knock down much larger opponents, most of which were local toughmen weighing around 200 lbs. In 1910, Wilde married his wife Elizabeth and was a father the same year. He left Tylorstown Colliery in 1913. In 1916, Wilde joined the British Army and was sent to Aldershot as a PT instructor. Professional career Edit The record books often show that Wilde started boxing professionally in 1911 but it is widely assumed (and later confirmed by boxing analysts) that he had been fighting professionally for at least four years before that. Wilde's claim that he had at least 800 fights is probably greatly exaggerated, but it was rather more than the 152 shown in Boxrec and elsewhere. Wilde's officially listed debut was on 26 December 1910, when he fought Les Williams to a no-decision in three rounds.

His first win came on 1 January 1911, when he knocked out Ted Roberts in the third round Managed by Teddy Lewis, reserve captain of local rugby club, Pontypridd RFC , [3] Wilde went undefeated in 103 bouts, all of which were held in Britain , a remarkable achievement. In the middle of that streak, on 31 December 1912, he won the British 7 stone championship by beating Billy Padden by an eighteenth-round knockout in Glasgow. He finally lost his undefeated record when he challenged Tancy Lee for the vacant British and Europe Flyweight Championship on 15 January 1915 in London. Wilde was knocked out in the seventeenth round (of twenty). File:William Howard Robinson A Welsh Victory at the National Sporting Club 1919.jpg Wilde then embarked on a sixteen-fight knockout streak, and on 14 February 1916, he won the British flyweight title by beating Joe Symonds by a knockout in round twelve at the National Sporting Club in London.

On 24 April 1916, Wilde beat Johnny Rosner by a knockout in the eleventh round at Liverpool Stadium to win the IBU World Flyweight title. On 13 May, he had two fights on the same day at Woolwich Dockyard (against Darkey Saunders and Joe Magnus), winning both by knockout, both fights combined lasting less than five rounds. On 26 June Wilde returned to the National Sporting Club to take his revenge on Tancy Lee with an eleventh-round knockout. On 18 December, Wilde became recognised as the first World Flyweight Champion (the IBU title was only recognised in Europe) when he defeated Young Zulu Kid of the United States whose seconds threw in the towel during the eleventh round of their bout at the Holborn Stadium. In 1917, he retained the title by beating George Clarke by a knockout in four. With that win, he also won the European title and recovered the British title. But that would be his last title defence, as soon he decided to vacate the world title. He kept fighting and winning, and in 1919, he beat Joe Lynch , another boxer who was a world champion, by decision in 15.

In 1920, he went undefeated in 10 fights, but then, he lost by a knockout in 17 to former World Bantamweight Champion Pete Herman , who outweighed Wilde by more than a stone (14 pounds), in 1921. The bout was originally scheduled as a title defence, but Herman had lost his championship to Lynch the month before. Herman easily regained the Bantamweight title from Lynch in July 1921, leading some to suspect that he had left the title behind with Lynch in America intentionally. That was the fight that marked his return to Britain after touring the United States all of 1920. After a win over Young Jennings , he announced his retirement. Wilde returned to the ring out of a sense of obligation to defend his title against Pancho Villa on 18 June 1923. After losing by a knockout in seven to the Philippines ' first world champion, Wilde announced his retirement. Retirement Edit Jimmy Wilde lived the last few years of his life in the Cadoxton district of Barry, South Wales.

With his final boxing winnings, Wilde entered into several business schemes, including a Welsh cinema chain and partnership in a cafe at 5 Western Shelter, Barry Island that was named 'The Mighty Atom' cafe. None was successful and he spent his final years in poverty. [4] In 1965, Wilde suffered a serious mugging at a train station in Cardiff , from which he never recovered. [1] His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1967, [5] and two years later Wilde died in a hospital in Whitchurch . He was buried in Barry Cemetery. Awards and recognition Edit Wilde had a record of 137 wins, 4 losses, 2 draws and 8 no-decisions, with 100 wins by knockout, which makes him one of the most prolific knockout winners of all time. Ring Magazine , a publication which named him the 3rd greatest puncher of all time in 2003, has twice named him the greatest flyweight of all time (March 1975 and May 1994).

Furthermore, the October 1999 issue of Ring Magazine rated Wilde the 13th greatest fighter of the 20th century. In 1990, Wilde was elected into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame as a member of that institution's inaugural class, a distinction shared with all time greats such as Sugar Ray Robinson , Harry Greb , Benny Leonard and Henry Armstrong . In 1992 he was also inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and one of his prize winning belts is part of the organisation's display. Wilde was ranked as the number 1 flyweight of all-time by the International Boxing Research Organization in 2006. [6] Notes

Question: Which former Welsh boxing championwas known as 'The ghost with the hammer in his hand'?
Answer: JIMMY WILDE