If you are a soccer fan you'll have probably seen the name "George Best" and gone to yourself "he wasn't a boxer". You may be surprised however to find out that George Best was actually an obscure boxer from Ghana who must go down as having one of the most ironic nicknames of all time.

George "Strictly The" Best (5-8-2, 5) was a Ghanian Welterweight who debuted back in 1991 where he defeated Julian Anoumou (KO2) in Togo. Best would swiftly add 2 more recorded wins both by KO2 before vanishing from the record books for over 2 years. Best resurfaced in November 1993 when he suffered his first career loss, a TKO6 reverse to Marciano Commey.

Following his loss to Commey, Best again vanished from the sport before returning in the United States at the end of the 1990's. On his US debut Best was beaten by Del Matchett (LTKO4) and this was followed by 4 more losses in his next 5 fights including losses to Anthony "The Candyman" Chase (twice, UD4 and LTKO5), Rohnique Posey (who debuted by stopping Best in a round) and Juan Diaz (LTKO2, no, not the Baby Bull). The only win during those 5 fights was a KO2 win over Connor Higgins.

Having seen his record fall to 4-6 (4) it was fair to say that George was not, "Strictly The" best however it didn't stop Best trying to prove he was the best. In his 11th professional bout Best drew with Nigerian Ike Ezeji and then scored his 5th and final win by stopping Rodney Brown (TKO3).

In Best's first fight of 2001 he managed to survive 8 rounds before being out pointed by Kevin Collins and then Best faced his highest profile opponent-one time future world champion Luis Collazo. Collazo proved to be in a different class and needed less than 2 rounds to stop Best, who by now was looking nothing like "Strictly The Best".

Best's career came to an end in July 2001 in a rematch with old rival Kevin Collins over the USA New York State Welterweight title with the bout ending in a technical draw after 6 rounds.

George "Strictly The" Best may have one of the most interesting nicknames in the sport however it may also just happen to the most misleading nickname ever used in sporting history.
 
Boxing nicknames come in all shapes and forms with many of them being simply ridiculous. One of the most ridiculous was that used by Richel Hersisia (32-3, 25), a fairly obscure Heavyweight from the Netherlands who went by the moniker “The Dutch Sonny Liston”. Whilst the real Sonny Liston was a legendary Heavyweight in the 1950's and 1960's beating the likes of Floyd Patterson, Zora Folley, Cleveland Williams and Eddie Machen his Dutch counterpart was much less successful.

Herisia turned professional in 2001 after having had a reported amateur record of 25-0 (23) and swiftly advanced his professional record to 8-0 (7) scoring wins in a number of European countries including the Netherlands, Germany Poland and Denmark. Over the following 2 years Herisia would add a further 13 wins to move to 21-0 (16) against abject opposition whilst also claiming three professional titles including the Dutch national title and the very lightly regarded WBF Heavyweight title. It was to be the WBF title that would help Herisia have his first major moment in the sun.

In 2004 Herisia would have his most well known bout as he travelled to London, England to face Olympic Gold Medal winner Audley Harrison who was challenging for the WBF title held by Hersisia. At this point in time Harrison's fights were shown on the BBC and he was 14-0, with a lot of expectation on his shoulders and this allowed the British public their chance to see “The Dutch Sonny Liston” in action. After 3 very dull rounds Harrison would eventually spring to life in round 4 stopping Hersisia after a wonderful combination that sent the “champion” down.

Following the loss to Harrison Hersisia would go back to fighting in obscurity against limited opponents winning his next 8 bouts (7 by knockout) to move to 29-1 (23). With his confidence rebuilt Hersisia would then face the still promising Taras Bydenko (who was then 22-2) in a bout for the WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title. Whilst Hersisia made a solid account of himself he was still beaten by Bydenko on all 3 cards.

Following the loss to Bydenko Hersisia would fight just 4 more times recording 3 wins and a notable loss to former world champion “Merciless” Ray Mercer (who was 47 years old at the time) before hanging up his gloves in 2009 with a final career record of 32-3 (25). Hersisia's reign as “The Dutch Sonny Liston” seems to have finally ended.

The videos below show the bout (and introductions) of Hersisia v Harrison and are both thanks to AudleyHarrisonFights

    What is in a name?

    Boxing nicknames (and even real names) range from the frankly stupid to the nonsensical. Here we hope to look at the best, worst and silliest names and the fighters who had those names.

    Archives

    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012

    Categories

    All
    2008 Olympics
    Adam Sandler
    Amateur Boxing
    Apollo Creed
    Aptronym
    Archak Termeliksetian
    Audley Harrison
    Best Nickname
    Boxing
    Boxing Nickname
    Boxings Most Stupid Nicknames
    Boxings Silliest Nickname
    Boxings Worst Nickname
    Candy
    Captain Cleopas Marvel
    Carl Weathers
    Darth Vader
    Denis Bakhtov
    Denis Grachev
    Derrick Chisora
    Derrick Murray
    Drago
    Dragos Son
    Evgeny Chuprakov
    Flyweight
    Funny Boxing Name
    Funny Name
    Funny Real Name
    George Best
    George Foreman
    George Strictly The Best
    Ghana
    Gun Hero
    Happy Gilmore
    Hard Worker
    Henry Buchanan
    Hiroyuki Hisataka
    Hitler The Killer
    Indonesia
    Japan
    Jerry Halstead
    Journeyman
    Jukebox Timebomb
    Lorenzo Parra
    Masaki Nakanuma
    Memorable Nickname
    Misleading Nickname
    Netherlands
    Nickname
    Nominative Determinism
    Octopus
    Oklahoma
    Olympics
    Orhan Delibas
    Pongsaklek Wonjongkam
    Prince
    Prince Octopus
    Prince Octopus Dzanie
    Proud Kilimanjaro
    Rabbit Tail
    Richel Hersisia
    Rick Repo
    Rocky
    Rodel Tejares
    Ronnie Fails
    Russian
    Sando First Son The Devil
    Sexy Soldier
    Shark Attack
    Sonny Liston
    Star Wars
    Strictly The
    Sugar Poo
    Sugar Poo Buchanan
    The Dutch Sonny Liston
    Trash Nakanuma
    Trenton Titsworth
    Turkey
    Turkish Delight
    Walter Ringo Star
    Whoop Dat Ass
    Wimpy
    Zimbabwe