Dick Tiger - At a Glance
Although it has been decades since Richard Iherigbo Ihetu (Dick Tiger) died, he is still the only international champion most closely associated with Nigeria's boxing excellence. He was the first African to fight for and win a world championship in his homeland. A fight to which he pledged victory before his home crowd and delivered said victory. Dick Tiger remains the gold standard in Boxing. Let's look at some reasons why:
1958: Won the British Empire Middleweight Championship. After this feat, he was ordained Commander of the British Order, by Queen Elizabeth II of Britain. Dick Tiger however, promptly denounced the ordination and returned the Championship belt to the Queen in 1968, in protest of what he termed a desertion, or indifference on the part of the British, to the escalating uprisings and untold massacre and bloodshed during the Biafran rebellion. Credited with helping to rejuvenate Boxing during the 60's Boxing recession.
1962: Was named, "Fighter of the Year" in 1962 and 1965, by the Ring Magazine. Dick Tiger beat out titanic and more flamboyant boxers like Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston, in the race to win the coveted title of "Fighter of the Year". He is the only boxer to be conferred "Fighter of the Year" twice, in the 1960's decade.
1963: Brought the first ever World Boxing Championship to black Africa (With the exclusion of apartheid South Africa). The Match was between Dick Tiger and America’s Gene Fulmer, in Ibadan, Nigeria. This match took place more than a decade before Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s fight in Zaire, dubbed, “Rumble in the jungle."
1966: A record-breaking win, when Dick Tiger overpowered Jose Torres and became Light Heavy weight champion of the world. Dick Tiger became the second boxer since 1903, to move up in class, from the Middle Weight to the Light Heavy Weight.
1966: Though without a formal secondary school education, he Single-handedly built one - the first secondary school in his hometown of Amaigbo.
1968: Dick Tiger's match with heavy hitter, Frankie Depaula, was voted "Fight of the Year." Dick Tiger won that showdown.
1991: First African Boxer to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), albeit posthumously. Ranked the 5th best Middle weight Boxer - of all time.
2009: A charitable foundation - the Dick Tiger Foundation, was instituted to uphold Dick Tiger's legacy of altruism. The nascent Foundation has since raised funds to award tuition scholarships to deserving students in cities and towns across Nigeria; including the successful completion of an eye care program outreach, in Orlu, Nigeria.
2010: Received National citation by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and honored as one of only fifty individuals that have influenced and expanded the global prestige of Nigeria since her independence in 1960.
2013: Though Dick Tiger won most of his fights and lost some, he comes from that rarefied breed of men, and women who excel through their own efforts only; without any encouragement. He harnessed his abilities in sports to transform his life and in turn transformed the lives of the underserved in his homeland of Nigeria. We salute the great Dick Tiger, of blessed memories. In his memory and that of all the departed and living great sons and daughters of the world, we duff our hats and invoke supernatural healing upon his beloved country of Nigeria. May Nigeria's gains cease to erode! May Nigeria be like that tree planted in the desert where, "... the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground, yet, through the scent of water, it will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant." (Job 14: 8-9). Glory be to God! May God bless you. May God bless America, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
