10. Randall "Tex" Cobb
Alternate nickname: "Ground Beef"
Tomato Can Moment: Literally had his face beaten in for 15 brutal rounds by then-champ Larry Holmes in 1982 in Houston. The beating was so gruesome that Howard Cosell, who called the fight, vowed never to cover another boxing match. A man of his word, Cosell also vowed to show up plastered to a Monday Night Football broadcast and leave after the first half.
9. Lou Savarese
Nickname: None.
Tomato Can Moment: Big Lou got KOed by Mike Tyson in a mere 38 seconds in Scotland in 2000. Which warrants about this much text.
8. Andrew "the Polish Wonder" Golota
Alternate nickname: "The Foul Pole," which he earned for throwing so many low blows in his two fights with Riddick Bowe that he was disqualified. (Yes, both times.)
Tomato Can Moment: Golota was KOed by Lennox Lewis in the first round in 1997. After the fight, the folks in Golota's camp said that Golota had suffered a "panic attack" in the ring. Translation: He crap his trunks.
Bonus Tomato Can Moment! He left the ring after the second round in his bout with Mike Tyson in 2000. He wasn't knocked out or anything, he just left. You know, head back to his dressing room to fix a sandwich, maybe.
7. Clifford Etienne
Nickname: "The Black Rhino"
Tomato Can Moment: Like Lou Savarese, he padded Mike Tyson's record (and ego) by letting the just-released convict knock him out. The Black Rhino barely got off any punches before Tyson tapped his chin 49 seconds into Round 1 of their 2003 bout. Looking shockingly coherent, he just decided to lie on the floor of the ring for a 10-count while apparently daydreaming about all the ways he was going to spend his paycheck for the night.
6. Eric "Butterbean" Esch
Alternate Nickname: "King of the Four-Rounders"
Tomato Can Moment: He fought Johnny Knoxville in a department store in Jackass: The Movie.
5. Bruce "the Mouse" Strauss
Alternate Nickname: "Ruben Bardot," a pseudonym he sometimes used when promoters refused to keep hiring him.
Tomato Can Moment: Too many to count. He's famous for saying, "I'm probably the only fighter in history to be KOed on every continent." It's estimated the Mouse lost more than 150 fights by knockout, and was even knocked out twice one night on the same card.
4. Glass Joe
Nickname: None.
Tomato Can Moment: With a record of 1–99, it's near impossible to lose to Glass Joe in Punch-Out!!. Well, there is actually one way to lose to Joe. During your bout, don't throw any punches through the first two rounds. Let Joe tire himself out. Then, at exactly the 2:31 mark of the third and final round, quickly unplug your NES, throw it into a waterproof capsule, wrap several strands of 70-grade transport chain around it, tie your girlfriend's complete DVD box set of Friends to it for weight, then submerge it in a lake. Only then will you finally lose to Joe. Oh, and by the way, this only works if your name is Lou Savarese.
3. Mitch "Hold My Beer" Hicks
Alternate Nickname: Doesn't need one. He already has the best nickname ever.
Tomato Can Moment: Getting KTFOed at the 1:24 mark of the first round during heavyweight Herbie Hide's comeback bid in 2006. Hicks was floored four times during the bout before the ref wisely stepped in, waved off the fight, then handed Mitch his beer back. He's currently the Arkansas Cruiserweight Trailer Park Champion. We're not kidding.
2. Reggie Strickland
Nickname: "Nightlife," for his tendency to not train and/or get half a bag on before fights.
Tomato Can Moment: Drumroll, please… Reggie has more losses than any boxer in history. Current record: 66 wins, 276 losses.
1. Chuck Wepner
Nickname: "The Bayonne Bleeder"
Tomato Can Moment: The year was 1975. The place: Cleveland. His opponent: Muhammad Ali. Chuck was handpicked to be an easy night for Ali. But he survived the early rounds and, much to the bookies' chagrin, knocked Ali down in the ninth with a rib shot. Then, with blood pouring out of practically every hole in his face, he was finally TKOed by Ali in the 15th and final round.
Bonus Random Fact: He inspired Rocky. After Stallone saw the fight, he reportedly sat down and wrote the story of a man who wanted to go the distance. He did not, however, inspire Stallone's bizarre two-year marriage to Brigitte Nielsen. Or his late-life obsession with plastic surgery. Or 1992's Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. We have retrograde retardation to thank for that.
Alternate nickname: "Ground Beef"
Tomato Can Moment: Literally had his face beaten in for 15 brutal rounds by then-champ Larry Holmes in 1982 in Houston. The beating was so gruesome that Howard Cosell, who called the fight, vowed never to cover another boxing match. A man of his word, Cosell also vowed to show up plastered to a Monday Night Football broadcast and leave after the first half.
9. Lou Savarese
Nickname: None.
Tomato Can Moment: Big Lou got KOed by Mike Tyson in a mere 38 seconds in Scotland in 2000. Which warrants about this much text.
8. Andrew "the Polish Wonder" Golota
Alternate nickname: "The Foul Pole," which he earned for throwing so many low blows in his two fights with Riddick Bowe that he was disqualified. (Yes, both times.)
Tomato Can Moment: Golota was KOed by Lennox Lewis in the first round in 1997. After the fight, the folks in Golota's camp said that Golota had suffered a "panic attack" in the ring. Translation: He crap his trunks.
Bonus Tomato Can Moment! He left the ring after the second round in his bout with Mike Tyson in 2000. He wasn't knocked out or anything, he just left. You know, head back to his dressing room to fix a sandwich, maybe.
7. Clifford Etienne
Nickname: "The Black Rhino"
Tomato Can Moment: Like Lou Savarese, he padded Mike Tyson's record (and ego) by letting the just-released convict knock him out. The Black Rhino barely got off any punches before Tyson tapped his chin 49 seconds into Round 1 of their 2003 bout. Looking shockingly coherent, he just decided to lie on the floor of the ring for a 10-count while apparently daydreaming about all the ways he was going to spend his paycheck for the night.
6. Eric "Butterbean" Esch
Alternate Nickname: "King of the Four-Rounders"
Tomato Can Moment: He fought Johnny Knoxville in a department store in Jackass: The Movie.
5. Bruce "the Mouse" Strauss
Alternate Nickname: "Ruben Bardot," a pseudonym he sometimes used when promoters refused to keep hiring him.
Tomato Can Moment: Too many to count. He's famous for saying, "I'm probably the only fighter in history to be KOed on every continent." It's estimated the Mouse lost more than 150 fights by knockout, and was even knocked out twice one night on the same card.
4. Glass Joe
Nickname: None.
Tomato Can Moment: With a record of 1–99, it's near impossible to lose to Glass Joe in Punch-Out!!. Well, there is actually one way to lose to Joe. During your bout, don't throw any punches through the first two rounds. Let Joe tire himself out. Then, at exactly the 2:31 mark of the third and final round, quickly unplug your NES, throw it into a waterproof capsule, wrap several strands of 70-grade transport chain around it, tie your girlfriend's complete DVD box set of Friends to it for weight, then submerge it in a lake. Only then will you finally lose to Joe. Oh, and by the way, this only works if your name is Lou Savarese.
3. Mitch "Hold My Beer" Hicks
Alternate Nickname: Doesn't need one. He already has the best nickname ever.
Tomato Can Moment: Getting KTFOed at the 1:24 mark of the first round during heavyweight Herbie Hide's comeback bid in 2006. Hicks was floored four times during the bout before the ref wisely stepped in, waved off the fight, then handed Mitch his beer back. He's currently the Arkansas Cruiserweight Trailer Park Champion. We're not kidding.
2. Reggie Strickland
Nickname: "Nightlife," for his tendency to not train and/or get half a bag on before fights.
Tomato Can Moment: Drumroll, please… Reggie has more losses than any boxer in history. Current record: 66 wins, 276 losses.
1. Chuck Wepner
Nickname: "The Bayonne Bleeder"
Tomato Can Moment: The year was 1975. The place: Cleveland. His opponent: Muhammad Ali. Chuck was handpicked to be an easy night for Ali. But he survived the early rounds and, much to the bookies' chagrin, knocked Ali down in the ninth with a rib shot. Then, with blood pouring out of practically every hole in his face, he was finally TKOed by Ali in the 15th and final round.
Bonus Random Fact: He inspired Rocky. After Stallone saw the fight, he reportedly sat down and wrote the story of a man who wanted to go the distance. He did not, however, inspire Stallone's bizarre two-year marriage to Brigitte Nielsen. Or his late-life obsession with plastic surgery. Or 1992's Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. We have retrograde retardation to thank for that.