Dick Tiger

Dick Tiger
Dick Tiger
	Dick Tiger (left) with Nino Benvenuti in 1969
Statistics
Real name	Richard Ihetu
Weight(s)	Middleweight; Light heavyweight;
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Reach	71 in (180 cm)
Born	August 14, 1929; Amaigbo, Nigeria
Died	December 14, 1971 (aged 42); Aba, Nigeria
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	82
Wins	60
Wins by KO	27
Losses	19
Draws	3

Dick Tiger (born Richard Ihetu; August 14, 1929 – December 14, 1971) was a professional boxer who held the World Middleweight and World Light Heavyweight Championships.^[1]

A Nigerian national, Tiger emigrated to Liverpool, England to pursue his boxing career and later to the United States. Tiger was an ethnic Igbo and served as a Leftenant in the Biafran army during the Nigerian Civil War, primarily training soldiers in hand to hand combat.^[2]

Tiger was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1962 and 1965, while the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1962 and 1966. In 2002, Tiger was voted by The Ring magazine as the 31st greatest fighter of the last 80 years.^[3]

Professional career

Tiger became a two-time undisputed world middleweight champion and helped keep boxing alive during the 1950s boxing industry recession. Tiger won the world middleweight title when he beat Gene Fullmer in 1962 and the light heavyweight title in 1966 when he dethroned José Torres of Puerto Rico.^[4]^[5]

Prior to these accomplishments, however, Tiger seemed condemned to poor management and a resulting lack of exposure. In 1957, using Liverpool as his fighting base, Dick Tiger was fighting on undercards for small purses, when by fortune, facing off against popular favorite Terry Downes at Shoreditch Town Hall, he walked away with a TKO after 6 heats.^[6] New management saw to it certain "errors in his style" were corrected, and in another year, Tiger had taken 17 of 19 fights and won the British Middleweight title. In 1959, handled by the independent Jersey Jones, Tiger came to America, to face adversity in a whole, new way. Jersey Jones, resisting the influences of Madison Square Garden, brokered deals for Tiger by himself, which in the short run, cost them both. In an independent promotion at Edmonton, Alberta, Tiger's Empire belt was lost in a more-than questionable 15 round nod to local challenger Wilf Greaves. The decision as rendered, had first been called a draw; appalled, Jones demanded a recount of the cards, which boomeranged, showing the fight, dominated by Tiger, as a win for Greaves. Tiger, sincere and honorable in his dealings, often found this virtuous approach not reciprocated, particularly in North America.^[7]

A.J. Liebling, impressed in witnessing Tiger's 1962 ^[8]performance versus Henry Hank of Detroit, described the fighter's appearance thus, "...a chest like an old-fashioned black office safe, dropping away to a slender waist, big thighs, and slender legs; he boxed classically, his arms tight against his sides at the beginning of a punch, his savagely methodical blows moving in short arcs and straight lines."

Such a description was similarly evoked, albeit in simpler terms, by Tiger's contemporaries. Gene Fullmer: "Tiger was a rough guy....I went to Nigeria to fight him, and, of course, I don't know what happened over there....He beat me. He beat me bad. My mother and father could have been judge and referee, and I couldn't have won a round..."^[9] Joey Giardello: "I thank Dick Tiger because Dick Tiger was a man and Dick Tiger gave (a title shot) to me. He didn't have to give it to me. He could have give it to somebody else."^[10] An additional comment from Giardello, in the form of a sarcastic bon mot, showed contemporary respect for Tiger as a fellow battler. The pair fought 4 times in all, the last two of these in swapping the middleweight title. Every fight went the distance, meaning that in terms of time, Dick Tiger and Joey Giardello contended face to face, for 2 and one-half hours. Prior to one of these latter encounters, when asked by the press if Joey, a classic boxer, planned to trade punches with Tiger, Giardello squelched this with, "I wouldn't trade stamps with him."^[11]

Numerous accounts of Tiger as both man and fighting man, describe a solid, decent, un-nuanced person. Unsurprisingly, a very Western gimmick, the literal "power of the press", or perhaps of Madison Avenue, appears lost on him. Contender Joey Archer, a scientific middleweight of uncommon speed, launched a small space ad campaign directed at Tiger. The ads, using copy such as "I'm a middleweight, and I've licked every man I ever fought, including you", were employed to create a sensation and perhaps a groundswell toward securing Archer a title fight. Tiger had already signed to fight Emile Griffith, and an Archer ad admonished, "The Middleweight Champion should meet the best middleweight (not a welterweight)." Archer carried his cause to talk shows, even to the New York Daily News, was photographed taunting an angry, caged tiger at the Bronx Zoo. Whether this bombast registered in any negative way, or even impacted Dick Tiger's pride, history never discovered after Emile Griffith won Tiger's middleweight belt from him, making Tiger a non-player in the drama. Joey Archer shifted his attentions and, from 1966, Tiger campaigned as a full light heavyweight.^[12]

After decisioning Jose Torres to win title honors, Tiger then defended his crown against Torres and Montanan Roger Rouse, before coming up short against veteran Bob Foster of Washington, DC. The left hook Foster used to dethrone Tiger in an instant, was rated among "The 10 Deadliest Punches of the Last 25 Years" in 1975.^[13] The power in the one-punch K.O. made such an impact upon Garden promoters, it was felt that a rematch would do poor business. This attitude forced Tiger to contend for the right to regain his crown, and saw him matched against up-and-comer Frankie DePaula, who was coming off five consecutive knockouts. The fight to qualify against Foster was, for its first four rounds, a war which saw both men go down twice, and was selected by Ring magazine as "Fight of the Year". Though Dick Tiger took the decision, having proved his mettle, ill treatment on the American side seemed to cling, as Frankie DePaula, the man he had defeated, was inexplicably given the chance at Bob Foster.^[14]

Retirement and death

After retiring from boxing, Tiger worked as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. One day, he felt a strong pain in his back. Tested by doctors, he was diagnosed with liver cancer.

He had been banned by the Nigerian government in his country because of his involvement in the Biafran movement; however, the ban was lifted immediately after news about his condition arrived in Nigeria. He died of liver cancer on 14 December 1971, aged 42.^[15]^[16]

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary
82 fights	60 wins	19 losses
By knockout	27	2
By decision	33	17
Draws	3

Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	60-19-3	Emile Griffith	UD	10	1970-07-15	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	60-18-3	Andy Kendall	UD	10	1969-11-14	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	59-18-3	Nino Benvenuti	UD	10	1969-05-26	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	58-18-3	Frank DePaula	UD	10	1968-10-25	Madison Square Garden, New York	The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" (1968)
Loss	57-18-3	Bob Foster	KO	4 (15), 2:05	1968-05-24	Madison Square Garden, New York	Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring & Lineal Light heavyweight titles
Win	57-17-3	Roger Rouse	TKO	12 (15), 0:12	1967-11-17	Convention Center, Las Vegas	Retained WBA, WBC, The Ring & Lineal Light heavyweight titles
Win	56-17-3	José Torres	SD	15	1967-05-16	Madison Square Garden, New York	Retained WBA, WBC, The Ring & Lineal Light heavyweight titles
Win	55-17-3	Abraham Tomica	TKO	5 (10)	1967-02-05	Mile One Park, Port Harcourt
Win	54-17-3	José Torres	UD	15	1966-12-16	Madison Square Garden, New York	Won WBA, WBC, The Ring & Lineal Light heavyweight titles
Loss	53-17-3	Emile Griffith	UD	15	1966-04-25	Madison Square Garden, New York	Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring & Lineal Middleweight titles
Win	53-16-3	Peter Mueller	KO	3 (10), 0:57	1966-02-18	Westfalenhalle, Dortmund
Win	52-16-3	Joey Giardello	UD	15	1965-10-21	Madison Square Garden, New York	Won WBA, WBC, The Ring & Lineal Middleweight titles
Win	51-16-3	Rubin Carter	UD	10	1965-05-20	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	50-16-3	Juan Carlos Rivero	TKO	6 (10)	1965-03-12	Madison Square Garden, New York
Loss	49-16-3	Joey Archer	SD	10	1964-10-16	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	49-15-3	Don Fullmer	UD	10	1964-09-11	Arena, Cleveland
Win	48-15-3	Jose Monon Gonzalez	TKO	6 (10)	1964-07-31	Madison Square Garden, New York
Loss	47-15-3	Joey Giardello	PTS	15	1963-12-07	Convention Hall, Atlantic City	Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring & Lineal Middleweight titles
Win	47-14-3	Gene Fullmer	RTD	7 (15), 3:00	1963-08-10	Liberty Stadium, Ibadan	Retained WBA & The Ring, won Lineal, WBC Middleweight titles
Draw	46-14-3	Gene Fullmer	PTS	15	1963-02-23	Convention Center, Las Vegas	Retained WBA, for Lineal Middleweight titles
Win	46-14-2	Gene Fullmer	UD	15	1962-10-23	Candlestick Park, San Francisco	Won vacant WBA Middleweight title
Win	45-14-2	Henry Hank	UD	10	1962-03-31	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	44-14-2	Florentino Fernández	TKO	6 (10)	1962-01-20	Convention Center, Miami Beach
Win	43-14-2	William Pickett	UD	10	1961-12-16	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	42-14-2	Hank Casey	SD	10	1961-05-15	Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans
Win	41-14-2	Spider Webb	KO	6 (10), 2:41	1961-04-15	St. Nicholas Arena, New York
Win	40-14-2	Gene Armstrong	TKO	9 (10), 1:21	1961-02-18	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	39-14-2	Wilf Greaves	TKO	9 (15), 1:20	1960-11-30	Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton	Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title
Loss	38-14-2	Wilf Greaves	SD	15	1960-06-22	Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton	Lost Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title
Win	38-13-2	Víctor Zalazar	MD	10	1960-04-01	Arena, Boston
Win	37-13-2	Gene Armstrong	UD	10	1960-02-24	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
Win	36-13-2	Holly Mims	MD	10	1959-12-30	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
Loss	35-13-2	Joey Giardello	UD	10	1959-11-04	Arena, Cleveland
Win	35-12-2	Joey Giardello	UD	10	1959-09-30	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
Win	34-12-2	Gene Armstrong	PTS	10	1959-09-02	Convention Hall, Camden
Loss	33-12-2	Rory Calhoun	SD	10	1959-07-17	War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
Draw	33-12-2	Rory Calhoun	PTS	10	1959-06-05	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	33-12-1	Randy Sandy	PTS	10	1959-05-12	Empire Pool, Wembley
Loss	32-11-1	Randy Sandy	PTS	10	1959-05-12	The Stadium, Liverpool
Win	32-10-1	Yolande Pompey	PTS	10	1958-10-14	Empire Pool, Wembley
Loss	31-10-1	Spider Webb	PTS	10	1958-06-24	Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington
Win	31-9-1	Billy Ellaway	KO	2 (8)	1958-05-01	The Stadium, Liverpool
Win	30-9-1	Pat McAteer	KO	9 (15)	1958-03-27	The Stadium, Liverpool	Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title
Win	29-9-1	Johnny Read	KO	6 (8)	1958-02-25	Harringay Arena, Harringay
Win	28-9-1	Jimmy Lynas	KO	7 (8)	1958-02-03	King's Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester
Win	27-9-1	Jean Ruellet	PTS	8	1958-01-13	City Hall, Hull
Win	26-9-1	Paddy Delargy	KO	6 (10)	1957-11-28	Embassy Sportsdrome, Birmingham
Draw	25-9-1	Pat McAteer	PTS	10	1957-11-11	Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff
Win	25-9	Jean Claude Poisson	PTS	10	1957-10-21	Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff
Win	24-9	Phil Edwards	PTS	10	1957-09-09	Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff
Win	23-9	Alan Dean	PTS	8	1957-07-25	The Stadium, Liverpool
Loss	22-9	Willie Armstrong	PTS	8	1957-07-15	Engineer's Club, West Hartlepool
Win	22-8	Marius Dori	TKO	7 (8)	1957-06-04	Harringay Arena, Harringay
Win	21-8	Terry Downes	TKO	5 (8)	1957-05-14	Town Hall, Shoreditch	Cut eye stoppage. Matchup of future world champions.
Win	20-8	Johnny Read	TKO	2 (8)	1957-04-29	National Sporting Club, Piccadilly
Win	19-8	Alan Dean	PTS	8	1956-11-09	Tower Circus, Blackpool
Loss	18-8	Alan Dean	PTS	6	1956-10-18	The Stadium, Liverpool
Win	18-7	Jimmy Lynas	PTS	8	1956-07-02	Tower Circus, Blackpool
Win	17-7	Wally Scott	TKO	4 (8)	1956-05-28	Engineer's Club, West Hartlepool
Win	16-7	Alan Dean	PTS	8	1956-05-10	The Stadium, Liverpool
Win	15-7	Dennis Rowley	KO	1 (8)	1956-05-03	The Stadium, Liverpool
Loss	14-7	George Roe	PTS	8	1956-03-22	The Stadium, Liverpool
Loss	14-6	Jimmy Lynas	PTS	8	1956-03-01	Tower Circus, Blackpool
Loss	14-5	Gerry McNally	PTS	8	1956-01-27	Tower Circus, Blackpool
Loss	14-4	Alan Dean	PTS	6	1955-12-08	The Stadium, Liverpool
Win	14-3	Bolaji Johnson	PTS	8	1955-08-31	Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos
Win	13-3	John Ama	KO	2	1955-05-01	Lagos
Win	12-3	Raheem Fagbemi	PTS	8	1955-01-31	Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos
Win	11-3	Koko Kid	KO	6	1955-01-01	Amaigbo
Win	10-3	Peter Okptra	KO	8	1954-11-01	Lagos
Win	9-3	Super Human Power	PTS	8	1954-07-18	Rex Cinema Hall, Aba
Win	8-3	Mighty Joe	PTS	6	1954-06-12	Rex Cinema Hall, Aba
Win	7-3	Robert Nwanne	KO	2	1954-02-01	Lagos
Loss	6-3	Tommy West	PTS	6	1954-01-29	Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos
Loss	6-2	Tommy West	RTD	7	1953-05-20	African Tennis Club, Lagos
Win	6-1	Simon Eme	PTS	8	1953-02-01	Lagos
Win	5-1	Blackie Power	PTS	6	1953-01-30	Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos
Win	4-1	Lion Ring	TKO	6	1953-01-01	Lagos
Loss	3-1	Tommy West	PTS	10	1952-12-13	Rex Cinema Hall, Lagos
Win	3-0	Easy Dynamite	KO	1	1952-10-01	Port Harcourt
Win	2-0	Koko Kid	PTS	8	1952-09-01	Port Harcourt
Win	1-0	Simon Eme	KO	2	1952-01-01	Aba

Fiction

A fictional August 29, 1963 Madison Square Garden bout in which a heavily favored Dick Tiger loses to Tom "The Hammer" Case of Dallas, Texas comes near the end of Stephen King's time-travel novel, 11/22/63.

TV

Appeared as a guest on an episode of the American television series What's My Line? (June 16, 1963). The panel correctly guessed his occupation.

References

↑ "The Lineal Boxing World Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
↑ Rogak, Larry (2005). You Don't Know Dick!: An Onomastic Reference Compendium. iUniverse. p. 80. ISBN 0-595-35433-5.
↑ Andrew Eisele. "Ring Magazine's 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years". About.com Sports.
↑ "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
↑ "The Lineal Light Heavyweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
↑ Carpenter, Harry (1975). Boxing: A Pictorial History. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery Company. p. 123. ISBN 0-8092-8349-2.
↑ Sugar, Bert (1984). The 100 Greatest Boxers of All Time. New York, NY: Bonanza Books. pp. 138–139. ISBN 0-517-67246-4.
↑ Liebling, A.J. (1990). A Neutral Corner. San Francisco, CA: North Point Press. pp. 191–192. ISBN 0-86547-450-8.
↑ Heller, Peter (1973). In This Corner! (Dell PB original ed.). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc. pp. 353–354.
↑ Heller, Peter (1973). In This Corner! (Dell PB original ed.). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc. p. 403.
↑ Liebman, Glenn (1996). Boxing Shorts. Chicago, IL: Contemporary Books, Inc. p. 176. ISBN 0-8092-3216-2.
↑ Dundee, Angelo (2008). My View From The Corner. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-0-07-147739-0.
↑ staff writer, no by-line. "The 10 Deadliest Punches of the Last Quarter Century!". Big Book of Boxing (July, 1975): 25, 54.
↑ Collins, Nigel (1990). Boxing Babylon. New York, NY: Carol Publishing Group. p. 78. ISBN 0-8065-1183-4.
↑ Dick Tiger dies of liver cancer, google.com; accessed November 6, 2016.
↑ "Dick tiger 42, Nigerian boxer who won world titles dead".

External links

Professional boxing record for Dick Tiger from BoxRec
Emeagwali, Philip, "DICK TIGER: Photo Essay"

Achievements
Inaugural Champion	WBA middleweight champion October 23, 1962 - December 7, 1963	Succeeded by Joey Giardello
Inaugural Champion	WBC middleweight champion August 10, 1963 - December 7, 1963
Vacant Title last held by Paul Pender	The Ring middleweight champion May 7, 1963 - December 7, 1963
Vacant Title last held by Paul Pender	Lineal middleweight champion August 10, 1963 - December 7, 1963
Inaugural Champion	Undisputed middleweight champion August 10, 1963 - December 7, 1963
Preceded by Joey Giardello	WBA middleweight champion October 21, 1965 - April 25, 1966	Succeeded by Emile Griffith
	WBC middleweight champion October 21, 1965 - April 25, 1966
	The Ring Middleweight Champion October 21, 1965 - April 25, 1966
	Lineal middleweight champion October 21, 1965 - April 25, 1966
	Undisputed middleweight champion October 21, 1965 - April 25, 1966
Preceded by José Torres	WBA light heavyweight champion December 16, 1966 - May 24, 1968	Succeeded by Bob Foster
	WBC light heavyweight champion December 16, 1966 - May 24, 1968
	The Ring light heavyweight champion December 16, 1966 - May 24, 1968
	Lineal light heavyweight champion December 16, 1966 - May 24, 1968
	Undisputed light heavyweight champion December 16, 1966 - May 24, 1968

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "The Lineal Boxing World Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 6, 2016.

[2] Rogak, Larry (2005). You Don't Know Dick!: An Onomastic Reference Compendium. iUniverse. p. 80. ISBN 0-595-35433-5.

[3] Andrew Eisele. "Ring Magazine's 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years". About.com Sports.

[4] "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.

[5] "The Lineal Light Heavyweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 6, 2016.

[6] Carpenter, Harry (1975). Boxing: A Pictorial History. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery Company. p. 123. ISBN 0-8092-8349-2.

[7] Sugar, Bert (1984). The 100 Greatest Boxers of All Time. New York, NY: Bonanza Books. pp. 138–139. ISBN 0-517-67246-4.

[8] Liebling, A.J. (1990). A Neutral Corner. San Francisco, CA: North Point Press. pp. 191–192. ISBN 0-86547-450-8.

[9] Heller, Peter (1973). In This Corner! (Dell PB original ed.). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc. pp. 353–354.

[10] Heller, Peter (1973). In This Corner! (Dell PB original ed.). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc. p. 403.

[11] Liebman, Glenn (1996). Boxing Shorts. Chicago, IL: Contemporary Books, Inc. p. 176. ISBN 0-8092-3216-2.

[12] Dundee, Angelo (2008). My View From The Corner. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-0-07-147739-0.

[13] staff writer, no by-line. "The 10 Deadliest Punches of the Last Quarter Century!". Big Book of Boxing (July, 1975): 25, 54.

[14] Collins, Nigel (1990). Boxing Babylon. New York, NY: Carol Publishing Group. p. 78. ISBN 0-8065-1183-4.

[15] Dick Tiger dies of liver cancer, google.com; accessed November 6, 2016.

[16] "Dick tiger 42, Nigerian boxer who won world titles dead".