Los Angeles - In the twilight of his professional career, at the age of 38, Corrie Sanders picked up his first nickname this week.
His trainer Harold Volbrecht has named him "The Sniper" in the lead-up to Sanders' long-awaited shot at the WBC heavyweight title against Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko at the Staples Centre on Sunday morning (SA time).
In his 15 years as a professional boxer the former Pretoria policeman has always been just plain old "Corrie Sanders", but for by far the biggest fight of his life it was felt he needed a special showbiz name.
He is after all fighting in the movie capital of the world and staying in a glitzy five-star hotel on the Avenue of the Stars, where over the past few days Sanders has met movie stars like John Travolta, Bruce Willis, The Rock and Uma Thurman.
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"Is he used to this Hollywood lifestyle?" Los Angeles boxing writer Steve Springer asked quizzically this week, as he looked at a relaxed Sanders basking in the California sunshine.
He's not really, but few will begrudge him his moment in the spotlight.
He's lapped up all the attention he's been getting this week, but he's taken it in his stride and done so with no small dose of humility.
Professional boxing in the heavyweight division is no easy way to carve out a career and in that career Sanders has been up and down more than a drunken sailor on a stormy sea.
Just a year and a half ago in fact he was still fighting an American bum called Otis "The Assassin" Tisdale in the first fight of the night on a Oklahoma City bill, before the television cameras had been set up or the hot dog sellers had opened their concession stands.
Now, amazingly, his big chance has come, courtesy of a night in Hamburg in March last year when he obliterated Vitali's highly-rated brother, Vladimir, in two stunning rounds to win the WBO title.
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