News

A NEW BOOK ON GREAT DICK TIGER

01/11/2012 - 19.38.19

A new book on African boxing great Dick Tiger is set to be published

The book of Nigeria’s former star, who held world crowns, at both middleweight and light-heavyweight, has been written by his daughter Justina Ihetu.

The firs biography of Dick Tiger was published in 2005.

Dick Tiger: The Life and Times of a Boxing Immortal

Dick Tiger was perhaps the greatest fighter to come out of the African continent. Emerging from an environment devoid of substantive traditions in boxing, he would overcome a litany of obstacles before becoming a two-time undisputed world middleweight titlist and an undisputed light heavyweight champion. ‘The Life and Times of a Boxing Immortal,’ the first comprehensive biography of Dick Tiger, puts the man in the context of his times. A migrant fighter to Liverpool, the repository of West African born fighters who kept the British game alive during the industry wide recession of the 1950s, Tiger later moved to America where he established a marquee value seldom attained by non-American fighters and where he played a prominent role as an ‘in-house’ fighter at the ‘Mecca of Boxing,’ New York City’s Madison Square Garden. His life also personified the hopes, aspirations and the tragedy of the Igbo ethnic group. An avowed apostle of Biafran secession from Nigeria,! Tiger’s support would cost him dearly. Here is Dick Tiger as never before explained: The ‘blue collar’ fighter, ageless ringman, commercial venturer, Nigerian patriot and Biafran rebel. From empty bottle trader to wealthy realtor, from Nigerian boxing booths to Madison Square Garden, from journeyman fighter to world championship fighter; ‘The Life and Times of a Boxing Immortal’ is a compelling study of human dignity in triumph and in tragedy.

The book has received excellent reviews from boxing trade magazines around the world. The review in 'The Ring' magazine, which is known as the 'Bible of Boxing,' commended Ade for his 'exhaustive research.' This was reiterated by the English weekly 'Boxing News' which described the level of his research as 'impressive' and the book as been an 'inspiring read.'

Dick Tiger was a Nigerian world boxing champion at two weight divisions in the 1960s who tragically died in 1971. He was for many years a popular attraction at New York City's Madison Square Garden. He was a national hero in his native country but his later years were somewhat clouded by his involvement in the secessionist movement of Biafra which tried to break away from Nigeria. A major part of Ade's aim in writing this book was to restore Dick Tiger's reputation in his native Nigeria, as well as to provide a fitting remembrance for a great boxer.

Author

Adeyinka Makinde is a Nigerian-born and British based writer. He trained as a barrister-at-law and works as a law lecturer in England. He writes about boxing for a number of internet sites such as the highly esteemed cyberboxingzone.com, and eastsideboxing.com. His writings have appeared in African Renaissance, a quarterly published socio-political journal ,and Black Star News, a New York based investigative weekly. He grew up in both England and Nigeria and developed a great interest in boxing and writing.