Rocky Lockridge

Rocky Lockridge
Data
Birth Name	Richard Lockridge
Weight class	Super featherweight
nationality	US-american
birthday	January 10, 1959
place of birth	Tacoma
Date of death	February 7, 2019
Place of death	Gloucester City
style	Left-hand boom
size	1.69 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	53
Victories	44
Knockout victories	36
Defeats	9
Profile in the BoxRec database

Richard "Rocky" Lockridge (born January 10, 1959 in Tacoma , Washington , † February 7, 2019 in Gloucester City , New Jersey ) was an American professional boxer and world champion of the WBA and IBF in super featherweight. His first fight against Tony Lopez in 1988 was named Boxing Match of the Year by Ring Magazine .

Amateur career

Lockridge boxed as an amateur for the Tacoma Boys Club and was American bantamweight champion in 1977 and American runner-up in bantamweight in 1978. He also won the silver medal at the National Golden Gloves in Albuquerque in 1978 .

He boxed in the national team in international matches and beat Teodor Dinu from Romania, Mirosław Wawrzyniak from Poland, Adolfo Horta from Cuba and Stefan Förster from the GDR. In May 1978 he took part in bantamweight at the 2nd World Championships in Belgrade ; there he defeated in the preliminary rounds József Jakab from Hungary 5-0 and Claude Capelle from France 5-0, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals narrowly and not undisputed against the Yugoslav Fazlija Šaćirović 2-3.

Professional career

In 1978 he switched to the professional camp and came under the wing of trainer and manager legends Lou Duva and George Benton, both of whom were inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame . In his eleventh professional fight on February 19, 1980 in New Jersey , he became the new American featherweight champion through a tKo victory against Fel Clemente.

On October 4, 1980 Lockridge got after 16 won fights (14 knockout) in New Jersey for the first time the chance of the world title of the WBA in featherweight and boxed it against the title holder Eusebio Pedroza from Panama. The fight ended after the full 15 rounds with a controversial 2: 1 judge decision for Pedroza. UPI's correspondent Joe Carnicelli, for example, had counted the fight as a draw, while CBS commentators Tim Ryan and Gil Clancy even had Lockridge as the winner on their score sheets. The Lockridge support team then lodged a complaint with the WBA, as Lou Duva also claims to have seen Pedroza's manager Santiago Del Rio administer something to his protégé. Pedroza then voluntarily submitted to a urine test, which turned out negative and confirmed the battle judgment.

In August 1981 he suffered another bitter defeat when he lost the US championship title by a knockout defeat in the second round to the later WBC world champion Juan Laporte . However, it remained the only premature loss of his career.

He then won his next nine fights, seven of which by knockout. The defeated opponents included Robert Mullins (26-5) and José Nieto (19-2). Thus he received on April 24, 1983 in Sanremo, Italy, again the chance of the WBA title against Eusebio Pedroza, but was subject to this again over 15 rounds on points. He then moved to the next higher weight class, the super featherweight. There he beat the former WBC world champion Cornelius Boza-Edwards in September 1983 .

On February 26, 1984 he boxed in Beaumont for the WBA super featherweight world title, against the undefeated Roger Mayweather (17-0), uncle of the later boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. In this Lockridge sensationally won by knockout in the first Round, the fight lasted only a minute and a half. In June of the same year, he defended the title against the South Korean Tae-Jin Moon (23-1) through tKo in the eleventh round. In January 1985, he prematurely won against the eventual WBO world champion Kamel Bou-Ali (17-1) after his corner of the ring threw in the towel.

On May 19, 1985 he faced a title defense against Wilfredo Gómez in his home country Puerto Rico, but lost again by a controversial majority decision over 15 rounds on points. NBC's Ferdie Pacheco , inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame and World Boxing Hall of Fame, had Lockridge on his score sheet as the winner. However, since there was no rematch, Lockridge tried on August 3, 1986 to secure the WBC world title, but failed again by majority decision on the undefeated Mexican Julio César Chavez .

With a points win against Felipe Orozco (21-3) and a knockout win against Dennis Cruz (23-2), he was able to box for the IBF super featherweight world title on August 9, 1987 in Windsor , England . Lockridge won early through tKo after title holder Barry Michael did not come out of his corner after the eighth round. Lockridge defended the title prematurely in October 1987 against Johnny De La Rosa (34-2) from the Dominican Republic and in April 1988 on points against the undefeated US champion Harold Knight (19-0).

On July 23, 1988 he lost the title in a powerful duel by losing points to Tony Lopez (29-1), but had the Californian in the eighth round on the ground. The Ring Magazine chose the fight to the "Fight of the Year 1988". Also in the rematch against Lopez in March 1989, he had to admit defeat on points. In January 1992 he was defeated by the Mexican Rafael Ruelas (28-1) and in April of the same year also Sharmba Mitchell (27-0).

After boxing

Lockridge ended his boxing career after losing to Mitchell. His further life was marked by a steep social decline. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol, divorced his wife and was sentenced to prison for multiple property offenses, which he served until July 1999. He then lived as a homeless man on the streets of Camden , New Jersey.

On April 5, 2010, he was a guest on the A&E TV series Intervention , where his twin sons were able to convince him to seek help and go through rehab. A scene where Lockridge burst into tears with a scream became an internet meme .

Lockridge died on February 7, 2019, aged 60, after being placed in hospice care after another series of strokes.

Web links

• Profile at BoxRec
• Rocky Lockridge in the BoxRec database

predecessor	Office	successor
Roger Mayweather	Super featherweight boxing champion ( WBA ) February 26, 1984 - May 19, 1985	Wilfredo Gomez
Barry Michael	Super featherweight boxing champion ( IBF ) August 9, 1987 - July 23, 1988	Tony Lopez