Voting Station

Battling Nelson

Please vote to see the next celebrity.

Boxer

The Resume

    (June 5, 1882-February 7, 1954)
    Born in Copenhagen, Denmark
    Birth name was Oscar Mathaeus Nielsen
    World lightweight champion (1908-10)
    69 wins (40 by KO), 33 losses, 27 draws
    Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (1992)

Why he might be annoying:

    He lost a title fight against Joe Gans when he was disqualified for punching below the belt (September 3, 1906).
    During his title defense against Ad Wolgast (February 22, 1910), his eyes swelled shut so badly that at the beginning of the 40th round, he took his fighting stance opposite one of the ring posts. (At that point, the referee stopped the fight and declared Wolgast winner by TKO.)
    One newspaper credited his famed endurance to his being ‘of subnormal nervous organization, meaning his nerves were less sensitive than those of ordinary men, and did not carry shock to the brain in the same way.’
    He lost the money he made in the ring and died in poverty.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He served in the Spanish-American War (1898).
    He was known for his endurance in the ring, with referee Charlie White saying after one match, ‘Nelson took enough punishment to have beaten ten men.’
    He was knocked out only once in his career, by Owen Moran (November 26, 1910).
    After the fight, he quipped that Moran was ‘a greater discoverer than Cook or Peary. Those two claim they found the North Pole, but Moran discovered beyond a doubt that I am a human being.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying