Turning back the clock to 1968

Throughout the history of boxing,  fans have witnessed and enjoyed many encounters that became an “Instant Classic,”  fought by fearless fighters whose will-to-win and bravery defied logic.  These memorable fights were usually characterized by non-stop action, savage exchanges,  and fighters that recover after absorbing brutal punishment to regain control of the fight with undeniable courage.   

Recent  battles that earned the crowd’s respect and standing ovations,  and are rightfully labeled as “Classics”,  include  Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield,   Diego “Chico” Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo,  Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward  and more recently  Israel Vasquez vs. Rafael Marquez, just to name a few.  The courage displayed by these fighters is undeniable and is to be admired. 

This writer was in attendance at New York’s Madison Square Garden in October 1968 to witness one such fight.  Nigeria’s Dick Tiger, a two-time world Middleweight champion and one-time world Light Heavyweight champion, was scheduled to fight New Jersey’s Frank DePaula in the 10-round main event. 

The fight was Tiger’s first since losing his Light Heavyweight title to Bob Foster only months earlier.  One of the best fighters of his generation,  Tiger had defeated many highly ranked fighters of his era, including Gene Fullmer, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Nino Benvenuti,  Jose Torres,  Roger Rouse, Henry Hank and Florentino Fernandez. 

His opponent that evening was the hard punching Light heavyweight Frank DePaula,  whose record was a non-descript 18 wins and 5 losses.  The only recognizable name on his record was Argentina’s “Rocky” Rivero, whom DePaula stopped in 5-rounds.   The New Jersey native had resumed his boxing career two years earlier after having served several years in a federal penitentiary,  and was not expected to give Tiger much of a challenge.  His brawling style seemed “made to order” for the dangerous, hard punching Dick Tiger.    

However,  as often happens,  the action inside the squared circle does not always mirror the fight’s expectations, and Frank DePaula had apparently not read the script indicating that this evening he was merely a sacrificial lamb for Dick Tiger, the three-time World champion. 

Unknown to this writer, or to the fans in attendance at the packed Madison Square Garden,  we were about to witness a fight that would be later recognized  by  “The Ring Magazine” as  “The Fight of The Year for 1968”!

The opening round found both fighters immediately exchanging furious punches and the crowd responding with a standing ovation at round’s end.  The action continued in the second stanza at the same furious pace, and several terrific combinations by DePaula sent Tiger reeling into the ropes.  Sensing a big upset,  DePaula was merciless with his attack on his stunned opponent,  punching and chasing the retreating Nigerian from one corner of the ring to the other.  Several hard combinations knocked Tiger down, and he rose on unsteady legs as the referee counted.     

After absorbing more punches from a relentless DePaula, a hurt Tiger once again found himself on the canvas as the round ended,  barely beating the referee’s 10-count.   Another tremendous ovation from the appreciative crowd showered both fighters for their non-stop, brutal action during the entire round.   

Exhibiting tremendous courage, determination and recuperative powers, a seemingly defeated Tiger miraculously was able to turn the fight in his favor in the third round.   Displaying the champion’s heart that carried him to his three titles,  Tiger landed some terrific combinations that now had a hurt DePaula in a desperate retreat.  With the screaming crowd on its feet after seeing the Nigerian bounce back from certain defeat,  a hurt DePaula now found himself on the seat of his pants after taking a few more hard punches.  Rising before being counted out,  a reeling, wobbly DePaula could not avoid follow-up brutal combinations and was once again knocked to the canvas.  The bell ending the round saved a now bleeding DePaula from a certain “KO” loss and brought a much needed minute rest.   

Although both fighters absorbed some terrific punches in these opening rounds,  with   each having been knocked down twice,  they somehow found the determination and desire to continue their torrid pace during the remaining rounds.  They were both able to avoid any further knockdowns in spite of exchanging terrific punches in these wildly contested, hard fought final rounds.  The appreciative crowd displayed its approval with standing ovations during and after each of the rounds as a tribute to a special exhibition by two special warriors. 

As the ring announcer declared a deserving Dick Tiger the winner by unanimous decision,  another standing ovation from the crowd gave clear indication that there were no losers in this fight, only winners.  

Dick Tiger went on to defeat Nino Benvenuti and Andy “Kid” Kendall before losing to future Hall-of-Famer Emile Griffith in what proved to be his last.  He announced his retirement, ending his brilliant career with a record of 60 wins (27 by KOs), 12 losses and 3 draws.  He was later diagnosed with liver cancer and went back to his native Nigeria, where he died in 1971 at the age of 42 years old.  

One of the best fighters of his generation,  Dick Tiger was elected posthumously  into the “International Boxing Hall of Fame” in 1991.  

Frank DePaula unsuccessfully challenged Light Heavyweight champion Bob Foster several months after the Tiger loss,  and was knocked out in the first round in his only title opportunity.   After winning his next two fights, he was shot outside an apartment building, apparently the victim of a planned shooting.  Although he survived, he was paralyzed and died a year later from complications as a result of the gunshot wounds. 

This writer, and the fans in attendance in October 1968 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, were all witnesses to a rare display of courage, determination and brutality by two ring warriors that exhibited an unquestioned  “will-to-win” and tremendous heart in the ring.