Dick Tiger
| Dick Tiger | |
|---|---|
|
Dick Tiger (left) with Nino Benvenuti in 1969 | |
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Richard Ihetu |
| Rated at | Light Heavyweight |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Reach | 71 in (180 cm) |
| Nationality |
 Nigerian |
| Born |
August 14, 1929 Amaigbo, Nigeria |
| Died | December 14, 1971 (aged 42) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 82 |
| Wins | 60 |
| Wins by KO | 27 |
| Losses | 19 |
| Draws | 3 |
Dick Tiger CBE (born Richard Ihetu August 14, 1929 – December 14, 1971) was a boxer from Ubahu village, Amaigbo, Nigeria, who emigrated to Liverpool and later to the United States of America. Tiger was a member of the Igbo ethnic group.[1] Tiger was a boxer, commercial venturer, and Biafran rebel.
Professional career
Dick Tiger was one of the greatest fighters to come out of Africa. He became a two-time undisputed world middleweight titlist and helped keep boxing alive during the 1950s boxing industry recession. Tiger earned an undisputed Light-Heavyweight world championship. In 1962, Tiger won the world middleweight boxing championship.
On May 20, 1965, Tiger floored Rubin "Hurricane" Carter three times and won a unanimous 10-round decision. Tiger took on Gene Fullmer and won the world's Middleweight title by decision in fifteen. Later in a rematch he drew in fifteen and in the rubber match won by knockout in seven rounds.
Tiger was an "in-house fighter" at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
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. Tiger 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 December 14, 1971; he was 42 years old.[2]
Biafran cause
Tiger developed a portfolio of investments before the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War. Tiger was appointed CBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but he returned his insignia as a protest for what he perceived as a lack of support by Great Britain to the Biafran cause.
Professional boxing record
| 60 Wins (27 Knockouts), 19 Defeats (2 Knockouts), 3 Draws[3] | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 60-19-3 |  Emile Griffith |
UD | 10 | 1970-07-15 |  Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 60-18-3 | Andy Kendall |
UD | 10 | 1969-11-14 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 59-18-3 |  Nino Benvenuti |
UD | 10 | 1969-05-26 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 58-18-3 | Frank DePaula |
UD | 10 | 1968-10-25 | Madison Square Garden, New York, 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, New York |
Lost The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light Heavyweight titles |
| Win | 57-17-3 | Roger Rouse |
TKO | 12 (15), 0:12 | 1967-11-17 | Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada |
Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light Heavyweight titles |
| Win | 56-17-3 |  José Torres |
SD | 15 | 1967-05-16 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World 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, New York |
Won The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light Heavyweight titles |
| Loss | 53-17-3 | Emile Griffith |
UD | 15 | 1966-04-25 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
Lost The Ring, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles |
| Win | 53-16-3 |  Peter Mueller |
KO | 3 (10), 0:57 | 1966-02-18 | Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen |
|
| Win | 52-16-3 | Joey Giardello |
UD | 15 | 1965-10-21 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
Won The Ring, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles |
| Win | 51-16-3 | Rubin Carter |
UD | 10 | 1965-05-20 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 50-16-3 |  Juan Carlos Rivero |
TKO | 6 (10) | 1965-03-12 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Loss | 49-16-3 | Joey Archer |
SD | 10 | 1964-10-16 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 49-15-3 | Don Fullmer |
UD | 10 | 1964-09-11 | Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio |
|
| Win | 48-15-3 | Jose Monon Gonzalez |
TKO | 6 (10) | 1964-07-31 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Loss | 47-15-3 | Joey Giardello |
PTS | 15 | 1963-12-07 | Atlantic City Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
Lost The Ring, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles |
| Win | 47-14-3 | Gene Fullmer |
RTD | 7 (15), 3:00 | 1963-08-10 | Liberty Stadium, Ibadan |
Retained WBA & Won vacant The Ring, WBC World Middleweight titles |
| Draw | 46-14-3 | Gene Fullmer |
PTS | 15 | 1963-02-23 | Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada |
Retained WBA World Middleweight title |
| Win | 46-14-2 | Gene Fullmer |
UD | 15 | 1962-10-23 | Candlestick Park, California, California |
Won vacant WBA World Middleweight titles |
| Win | 45-14-2 | Henry Hank |
UD | 10 | 1962-03-31 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 44-14-2 |  Florentino Fernández |
TKO | 6 (10) | 1962-01-20 | Miami Beach, Florida |
|
| Win | 43-14-2 | William Pickett |
UD | 10 | 1961-12-16 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 42-14-2 | Hank Casey |
SD | 10 | 1961-05-15 | New Orleans, Louisiana |
|
| Win | 41-14-2 | Spider Webb |
KO | 6 (10), 2:41 | 1961-04-15 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 40-14-2 | Gene Armstrong |
TKO | 9 (10), 1:21 | 1961-02-18 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 39-14-2 |  Wilf Greaves |
TKO | 9 (15), 1:20 | 1960-11-30 | Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton, Alberta |
Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title |
| Loss | 38-14-2 | Wilf Greaves |
SD | 15 | 1960-06-22 | Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton, Alberta |
Lost Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title |
| Win | 38-13-2 | Víctor Zalazar |
MD | 10 | 1960-04-01 | Boston Arena, Boston, Massachusetts |
|
| Win | 37-13-2 | Gene Armstrong |
UD | 10 | 1960-02-24 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois |
|
| Win | 36-13-2 | Holly Mims |
MD | 10 | 1959-12-30 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois |
|
| Loss | 35-13-2 | Joey Giardello |
UD | 10 | 1959-11-04 | Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio |
|
| Win | 35-12-2 | Joey Giardello |
UD | 10 | 1959-09-30 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois |
|
| Win | 34-12-2 | Gene Armstrong |
PTS | 10 | 1959-09-02 | Convention Hall, Camden, New Jersey |
|
| Loss | 33-12-2 | Rory Calhoun |
SD | 10 | 1959-07-17 | War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York |
|
| Draw | 33-12-2 | Rory Calhoun |
PTS | 10 | 1959-06-05 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
|
| Win | 33-12-1 | Randy Sandy |
PTS | 10 | 1959-05-12 |  Empire Pool, Wembley, London |
|
| Loss | 32-11-1 | Randy Sandy |
PTS | 10 | 1959-05-12 | Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside |
|
| Win | 32-10-1 |  Yolande Pompey |
PTS | 10 | 1958-10-14 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London |
|
| Loss | 31-10-1 | Spider Webb |
PTS | 10 | 1958-06-24 | Empress Hall, Earl's Court, Kensington, London |
|
| Win | 31-9-1 | Billy Ellaway |
KO | 2 (8) | 1958-05-01 | Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside |
|
| Win | 30-9-1 | Pat McAteer |
KO | 9 (15) | 1958-03-27 | Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside |
Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title |
| Win | 29-9-1 | Johnny Read |
KO | 6 (8) | 1958-03-27 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London |
|
| 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, Yorkshire |
|
| Win | 26-9-1 |  Paddy Delargy |
KO | 6 (10) | 1957-11-28 | Embassy Sportsdrome, Birmingham, West Midlands |
|
| Draw | 25-9-1 | Pat McAteer |
PTS | 10 | 1957-11-11 |  Maindy Stadium, Cardiff |
|
| Win | 25-9 | Jean Claude Poisson |
PTS | 10 | 1957-10-21 | Maindy Stadium, Cardiff |
|
| Win | 24-9 | Phil Edwards |
PTS | 10 | 1957-09-09 | Maindy Stadium, Cardiff |
|
| Win | 23-9 | Alan Dean |
PTS | 8 | 1957-07-25 | Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside |
|
| Loss | 22-9 |  Willie Armstrong |
PTS | 8 | 1957-07-15 | Engineer's Club, West Hartlepool, County Durham |
|
| Win | 22-8 | Marius Dori |
TKO | 7 (8) | 1957-06-04 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London |
|
| Win | 21-8 | Terry Downes |
TKO | 5 (8) | 1957-05-14 | Town Hall, Shoreditch, London |
Cut eye stoppage. Matchup of future world champions. |
| Win | 20-8 | Johnny Read |
TKO | 2 (8) | 1957-04-29 | National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, London |
|
| Win | 19-8 | Alan Dean |
PTS | 8 | 1956-11-09 | Tower Circus, Blackpool, Lancashire |
|
| Loss | 18-8 | Alan Dean |
PTS | 6 | 1956-10-18 | Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire |
|
| Win | 18-7 | Jimmy Lynas |
PTS | 8 | 1956-07-02 | Tower Circus, Blackpool, Lancashire |
|
| Win | 17-7 | Wally Scott |
TKO | 4 (8) | 1956-05-28 | Engineer's Club, West Hartlepool, County Durham |
|
| Win | 16-7 | Alan Dean |
PTS | 8 | 1956-05-10 | Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire |
|
| Win | 15-7 | Dennis Rowley |
KO | 1 (8) | 1956-05-03 | Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire |
|
| Loss | 14-7 | George Roe |
PTS | 8 | 1956-03-22 | Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire |
|
| Loss | 14-6 | Jimmy Lynas |
PTS | 8 | 1956-03-01 | Tower Circus, Blackpool, Lancashire |
|
| Loss | 14-5 | Gerry McNally |
PTS | 8 | 1956-01-27 | Tower Circus, Blackpool, Lancashire |
|
| Loss | 14-4 | Alan Dean |
PTS | 6 | 1955-12-08 | Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire |
|
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?. The panel correctly guessed his occupation.
See also
References
- ↑ Rogak, Larry (2005). You Don't Know Dick!: An Onomastic Reference Compendium. iUniverse. p. 80. ISBN 0-595-35433-5.
- ↑ Dick Tiger dies of liver cancer
- ↑ Dick Tiger's Professional Boxing Record. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-22.
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
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dick Tiger. |
- Professional boxing record for Dick Tiger from BoxRec
- Emeagwali, Philip, "DICK TIGER: Photo Essay"
- Makinde, Adeyinka, DICK TIGER WEBPAGES
- YOUNG DICK TIGER, Nephew of Dick Tiger TIGER BOXING GYM in Los Angeles
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gene Fullmer |
WBA Middleweight Champion 23 October 1962 – 7 December 1963 |
Succeeded by Joey Giardello |
| Vacant Title last held by Paul Pender |
WBC Middleweight Champion 7 May 1963 – 7 December 1963 | |
| The Ring Middleweight Champion 7 May 1963 – 7 December 1963 | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Gene Fullmer |
World Middleweight Champion 7 May 1963 – 7 December 1963 | |
| Preceded by Joey Giardello |
WBA Middleweight Champion 21 October 1965 – 25 April 1966 |
Succeeded by Emile Griffith |
| WBC Middleweight Champion 21 October 1965 – 25 April 1966 | ||
| The Ring Middleweight Champion 21 October 1965 – 25 April 1966 | ||
| World Middleweight Champion 21 October 1965 – 25 April 1966 | ||
| Preceded by José Torres |
WBA Light Heavyweight Champion 16 December 1966 – 24 May 1968 |
Succeeded by Bob Foster |
| WBC Light Heavyweight Champion 16 December 1966 – 24 May 1968 | ||
| The Ring Light Heavyweight 16 December 1966 – 24 May 1968 | ||
| World Light Heavyweight Champion 16 December 1966 – 24 May 1968 | ||
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