The right moniker maketh the man

What's in a nickname? Does the boxer make the nickname or does the nickname make the boxer?

Monikers have been a part of boxing for many moons but not all fighters deserve their nicknames.

Take Soweto-born Boitshepo Mandawe, who decided in his infinite wisdom to call himself ''Gangster".

Eyebrows were raised when he threatened to beat up Paul Kamanga, whom he described as ''a boy from the suburbs who eats cornflakes in the morning".

Very little of the tough-talking Gangster was evident on fight night and Kamanga easily brushed past the bemused Mandawe over 10 rounds.

Mandawe has a penchant for attracting curious nicknames and there was a time when he answered to the monicker ''Fighting Prince".

Businessman Steve Mayisela - son of the legendary Arthur ''Fighting Prince" Mayisela - managed Mandawe in the early years of his career and got it into his head to name the future Gangster after his late father.

But there was nothing regal about the way Mandawe carried himself in the ring, and three attempts to win the national welterweight belt failed spectacularly.

In KwaZulu-Natal there is Irvin Buhlalu, who shot to prominence when he carried the South African flag in the opening ceremony of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

Buhlalu happily accepted the nickname ''Pretty Boy" when he eventually stepped up to the professional ranks, often leaving his opponents in stitches at its mention.

The problem is he owns a mug only a mother can love, and yet he has no problem calling himself Pretty Boy.

And there is the case of Patrick Mathebula, a boxer who did not object when sentimental fight fans decided to nickname him after his legendary father Peter ''Terror" Mathebula.

Mathebula senior was a formidable boxer and holds the distinction of being the first black South African to win a world title - he won the WBA flyweight title in 1980. He lived up to the nickname Terror and struck fear in opponents when he entered the ring.

Mathebula Junior, on the other hand, couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag and retired after seven losses from 23 fights without winning even a provincial title.

American Floyd Mayweather Junior can at least argue that there is nothing misleading about his nickname ''Money".

Declared Forbes Magazine's highest-paid athlete in the world for the second time in three years, he posted a video of himself counting $1m in cash on his plane among a host of other insane instances of flaunting his wealth.

The WBC and WBA welterweight champion earned $105m in the rematch against Argentine Marcos Maidana last month.

Few are aware that Dingaan Bongani Thobela was nicknamed ''Sanchez" earlier in his career. He was renamed "The Rose of Soweto" by an admirer who sold roses at his fights. The name stuck and Thobela blossomed into one of the best fighters this country has produced.

Finally, there was Paul Ditau Molefyane, who rose to fame in the 1980s. A master showboater who danced in the ring, winding his punches and feigning jabs like Sugar Ray Leonard, he was nicknamed Diarora after a popular music show on TV.