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Tiger was born in the small Nigerian village of Amaigbo,
Orlu, on August 14, 1929. He was twenty-six years old when
he went to England, where he lost his first four pro
bouts. He was supposed to be a set-up for Terry Downes,
but finished off the London star in five. This was
followed by a nine-round K.O. of Pat McAteer for the
British Empire middleweight crown, plus a string of five
more victories, and Tiger was off for America.
America suited Tiger, and once he settled down he proved to
be of world class. Americans never ceased to amuse him,
however. "When I first arrived," he once said, "folks over
here thought Nigerians were cannibals. They even asked me
if I was. They thought I grew up in the jungle surrounded
by wild beasts-sort of a son of Tarzan. I never was in a
jungle in my life. I don't even know if they have them in
my part of Africa. I never saw a wild animal until I moved
to England and visited the Liverpool Zoo. But when people
start asking me silly questions about life in the wild, I
make up stories about growing up with lions and tigers as
pets-and how I was an elephant boy."
In a New York restaurant one time, Dick lunched with some
friends. As the waiter approached, he gave them a little
wink and then his expression grew stern when the waiter
asked how he wanted his steak. "You fix it the way it
should be," Dick said, menacingly. "I don't know anything
about beef. In my country we eat people."
Dick Tiger's real name was Richard Ihetu. An Englishman
dubbed him Tiger "because he jumps around the ring like a
tiger."
He confounded everyone in 1969 by beating Nino Benvenuti. He
was forty years old at the time. Eight months later he
bowed out of the prize ring by dropping a 10-round
decision to Emile Griffith.
Seventeen months after that he was dead-the victim of cancer. |
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John D. McCallum
The Encyclopedia of World Boxing Champions
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