Boxing Riddles (my attempt, give it a try!)

Mick's concept was pretty fun so here's my attempt. Not sure how tricky these are - I tried to avoid using obvious clues that would draw the mind instantly to the fighter. If they are too tough I'll add clues. Have a go!


1) You may not remember this fighter, as he was never a champion. He did, however,
get to pretend to be one on more than one occasion. He holds an impressive
win over a future world champ in the amateurs - a champ notoriously tricky to win against. Unfortunately, his pro career didn't span out as he hoped.
After running up a respectable 17-1 record, he was "bitten" by a "spider". Soon after
he was "bitten" again, this time by a "snake". He would only win once more after that.
After losing his last handful of fights, he decided to hang up the gloves for good.


2) This former world champ parlayed his street kid/hoodlum upbringing - and natural
right hand power - into a successful boxing career. A knockout artist, this fighter
is best known for his trilogy with a man who, when all was said and done, proved
too "heroic" for him to overcome. He had to rack up a long winstreak before getting another shot at the title, but this time the fight left a bad "taste" in his mouth. This fighter's days as a hoodlum seemed to follow him, as he often found himself in trouble with various athletic commissions and barred from boxing for a period of time. Luckily for him, he did parlay his natural charisma into a showbiz career after he decided to hang up the gloves.

#2 The Deadend Kid Rocky Graziano.

Nicely done. Hope I didn't make it too obvious.