Dick Tiger

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

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	(1929-08-14)August 14, 1929 Amaigbo, Colony of Nigeria
Died	December 14, 1971(1971-12-14) (aged 42) Aba, Nigeria
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	82
Wins	60
Wins by KO	27
Losses	19
Draws	3

Tiger emigrated to Liverpool, England to pursue his boxing career and later to the United States. Tiger was Igbo and served as a Lieutenant 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 six 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 four 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 two and a half hours. Prior to one of these latter encounters, when asked by the press if Giardello, 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

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
82	Loss	60–19–3	Emile Griffith	UD	10	Jul 15, 1970	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
81	Win	60–18–3	Andy Kendall	UD	10	Nov 14, 1969	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
80	Win	59–18–3	Nino Benvenuti	UD	10	May 26, 1969	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
79	Win	58–18–3	Frank DePaula	UD	10	Oct 25, 1968	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" (1968)
78	Loss	57–18–3	Bob Foster	KO	4 (15), 2:05	May 24, 1968	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal light heavyweight titles
77	Win	57–17–3	Roger Rouse	TKO	12 (15), 0:12	Nov 17, 1967	Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.	Retained WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal light heavyweight titles
76	Win	56–17–3	José Torres	SD	15	May 16, 1967	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Retained WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal light heavyweight titles
75	Win	55–17–3	Abraham Tomica	TKO	5 (10)	Feb 05, 1967	Mile One Park, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
74	Win	54–17–3	José Torres	UD	15	Dec 16, 1966	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Won WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal light heavyweight titles
73	Loss	53–17–3	Emile Griffith	UD	15	Apr 25, 1966	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
72	Win	53–16–3	Peter Mueller	KO	3 (10), 0:57	Feb 18, 1966	Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
71	Win	52–16–3	Joey Giardello	UD	15	Oct 21, 1965	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Won WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
70	Win	51–16–3	Rubin Carter	UD	10	May 20, 1965	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
69	Win	50–16–3	Juan Carlos Rivero	TKO	6 (10)	Mar 12, 1965	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
68	Loss	49–16–3	Joey Archer	SD	10	Oct 16, 1964	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
67	Win	49–15–3	Don Fullmer	UD	10	Sep 11, 1964	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
66	Win	48–15–3	Jose Monon Gonzalez	TKO	6 (10)	Jul 31, 1964	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
65	Loss	47–15–3	Joey Giardello	PTS	15	Dec 07, 1963	Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
64	Win	47–14–3	Gene Fullmer	RTD	7 (15), 3:00	Aug 10, 1963	Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Nigeria	Retained WBA and The Ring middleweight titles Won inaugural WBC and vacant lineal middleweight titles
63	Draw	46–14–3	Gene Fullmer	PTS	15	Feb 23, 1963	Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.	Retained WBA middleweight title
62	Win	46–14–2	Gene Fullmer	UD	15	Oct 23, 1962	Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, U.S.	Won WBA middleweight title
61	Win	45–14–2	Henry Hank	UD	10	Mar 31, 1962	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
60	Win	44–14–2	Florentino Fernández	TKO	6 (10)	Jan 20, 1962	Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
59	Win	43–14–2	William Pickett	UD	10	Dec 16, 1961	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
58	Win	42–14–2	Hank Casey	SD	10	May 15, 1961	Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
57	Win	41–14–2	Spider Webb	KO	6 (10), 2:41	Apr 15, 1961	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
56	Win	40–14–2	Gene Armstrong	TKO	9 (10), 1:21	Feb 18, 1961	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
55	Win	39–14–2	Wilf Greaves	TKO	9 (15), 1:20	Nov 30, 1960	Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton, Canada	Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title
54	Loss	38–14–2	Wilf Greaves	SD	15	Jun 22, 1960	Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton, Canada	Lost Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title
53	Win	38–13–2	Víctor Zalazar	MD	10	Apr 01, 1960	Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
52	Win	37–13–2	Gene Armstrong	UD	10	Feb 24, 1960	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
51	Win	36–13–2	Holly Mims	MD	10	Dec 30, 1959	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
50	Loss	35–13–2	Joey Giardello	UD	10	Nov 04, 1959	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
49	Win	35–12–2	Joey Giardello	UD	10	Sep 30, 1959	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
48	Win	34–12–2	Gene Armstrong	PTS	10	Sep 02, 1959	Convention Hall, Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
47	Loss	33–12–2	Rory Calhoun	SD	10	Jul 17, 1959	War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York, U.S.
46	Draw	33–11–2	Rory Calhoun	PTS	10	Jun 05, 1959	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
45	Win	33–11–1	Randy Sandy	PTS	10	May 12, 1959	Empire Pool, Wembley, England
44	Loss	32–11–1	Randy Sandy	PTS	10	March 19,1959	The Stadium, Liverpool, England
43	Win	32–10–1	Yolande Pompey	PTS	10	Oct 14, 1958	Empire Pool, London, England
42	Loss	31–10–1	Spider Webb	PTS	10	Jun 24, 1958	Earls Court Empress Hall, London, England
41	Win	31–9–1	Billy Ellaway	KO	2 (8)	May 01, 1958	The Stadium, Liverpool, England
40	Win	30–9–1	Pat McAteer	KO	9 (15)	Mar 27, 1958	The Stadium, Liverpool, England	Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title
39	Win	29–9–1	Johnny Read	KO	6 (8)	Feb 25, 1958	Harringay Arena, London, England
38	Win	28–9–1	Jimmy Lynas	KO	7 (8)	Feb 03, 1958	King's Hall, Manchester, England
37	Win	27–9–1	Jean Ruellet	PTS	8	Jan 13, 1958	City Hall, Hull, England
36	Win	26–9–1	Paddy Delargy	KO	6 (10)	Nov 28, 1957	Embassy Sportsdrome, Birmingham, England
35	Draw	25–9–1	Pat McAteer	PTS	10	Nov 11, 1957	Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff, Wales
34	Win	25–9	Jean Claude Poisson	PTS	10	Oct 21, 1957	Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff, Wales
33	Win	24–9	Phil Edwards	PTS	10	Sep 09, 1957	Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff, Wales
32	Win	23–9	Alan Dean	PTS	8	Jun 25, 1957	The Stadium, Liverpool, England
31	Loss	22–9	Willie Armstrong	PTS	8	Jul 15, 1957	Engineer's Club, Hartlepool, England
30	Win	22–8	Marius Dori	TKO	7 (8)	Jun 04, 1957	Harringay Arena, London, England
29	Win	21–8	Terry Downes	TKO	5 (8)	May 14, 1957	Town Hall, London, England	Cut eye stoppage. Matchup of future world champions.
28	Win	20–8	Johnny Read	TKO	2 (8)	Apr 29, 1957	National Sporting Club, London, England
27	Win	19–8	Alan Dean	PTS	8	Nov 09, 1956	Tower Circus, Blackpool, England
26	Loss	18–8	Alan Dean	PTS	6	Oct 18, 1956	The Stadium, Liverpool, England
25	Win	18–7	Jimmy Lynas	PTS	8	Jul 02, 1956	Tower Circus, Blackpool, England
24	Win	17–7	Wally Scott	TKO	4 (8)	May 28, 1956	Engineer's Club, Hartlepool, England
23	Win	16–7	Alan Dean	PTS	8	May 10, 1956	The Stadium, Liverpool, England
22	Win	15–7	Dennis Rowley	KO	1 (8)	May 03, 1956	The Stadium, Liverpool, England
21	Loss	14–7	George Roe	PTS	8	Mar 22, 1956	The Stadium, Liverpool, England
20	Loss	14–6	Jimmy Lynas	PTS	8	Mar 01, 1956	Tower Circus, Blackpool, England
19	Loss	14–5	Gerry McNally	PTS	8	Jan 27, 1956	Tower Circus, Blackpool, England
18	Loss	14–4	Alan Dean	PTS	6	Dec 08, 1955	The Stadium, Liverpool, England
17	Win	14–3	Bolaji Johnson	PTS	8	Aug 31, 1955	Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, Nigeria
16	Win	13–3	John Ama	KO	2	May 01, 1955	Lagos, Nigeria
15	Win	12–3	Raheem Fagbemi	PTS	8	Jan 31, 1955	Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, Nigeria
14	Win	11–3	Koko Kid	KO	6	Jan 01, 1955	Amaigbo, Nigeria
13	Win	10–3	Peter Okptra	KO	8	Nov 01, 1954	Lagos, Nigeria
12	Win	9–3	Super Human Power	PTS	8	Jul 18, 1954	Rex Cinema Hall, Aba, Nigeria
11	Win	8–3	Mighty Joe	PTS	6	Jun 12, 1954	Rex Cinema Hall, Aba, Nigeria
10	Win	7–3	Robert Nwanne	KO	2	Feb 01, 1954	Lagos, Nigeria
9	Loss	6–3	Tommy West	PTS	6	Jan 29, 1954	Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, Nigeria
8	Loss	6–2	Tommy West	RTD	7	May 20, 1953	African Tennis Club, Lagos, Nigeria
7	Win	6–1	Simon Eme	PTS	8	Feb 01, 1953	Lagos, Nigeria
6	Win	5–1	Blackie Power	PTS	6	Jan 30, 1953	Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, Nigeria
5	Win	4–1	Lion Ring	TKO	6	Jan 01, 1953	Lagos
4	Loss	3–1	Tommy West	PTS	10	Dec 13, 1952	Rex Cinema Hall, Lagos, Nigeria
3	Win	3–0	Easy Dynamite	KO	1	Oct 01, 1952	Port Harcourt, Nigeria
2	Win	2–0	Koko Kid	PTS	8	Sep 01, 1952	Port Harcour, Nigeria
1	Win	1–0	Simon Eme	KO	2	Jan 01, 1952	Aba, Nigeria

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.

See also

• List of middleweight boxing champions
• List of light-heavyweight boxing champions

References

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".

Further reading

• Makinde, Adeyinka (2005). Dick Tiger: The Life and Times of a Boxing Immortal. Tarentum, PA: Word Association Publishers. ISBN 1-59571-042-6.

External links

• Boxing record for Dick Tiger from BoxRec
• Emeagwali, Philip, "DICK TIGER: Photo Essay"

Achievements
Preceded by Gene Fullmer	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
	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
Middleweight status
Preceded by Randolph Turpin	Latest born world champion to die December 15, 1971 – January 8, 1995	Succeeded by Carlos Monzón
Light heavyweight status
Preceded by Freddie Mills	Latest born world champion to die December 15, 1971 – October 25, 1980	Succeeded by Víctor Galíndez