[Boxing Illustrated, June 1984]: Rocky Lockridge: The Lord of Discipline

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  1. mrkoolkevin

    mrkoolkevin Never wrestle with pigs or argue with fools Full Member

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    Rocky Lockridge: The Lord of Discipline
    by Jack Obermayer (who imo comes off as pretty annoying and condescending in this article)

    [PART I/2]

    An Inside Look at What Makes the New WBA 130-Pound Champion Tick

    After two futile attempts to win a world title at the featherweight limit, Lockridge finally grabbed the brass ring, winning the WBA junior lightweight crown just 1:31 into the opening round. In the end, it came almost too easy. One pulverizing right and Roger “Black Mamba” Mayweather was finished. The fight(?) was over with such startling speed that Lockridge hovered over the prostrate body of Mayweather for a brief moment in the manner of Muhammad Ali in his second fight with Sonny Liston, almost demanding the fallen champion to get up and fight. Then, realizing that his lifelong dream was about to come true, Rocky went to a neutral corner and waited for referee Larry Rozadilla to count Mayweather out.

    Just who is Rocky Lockridge? The best one word description would be disciplined. Other words that come to mind are conservative, silent and deliberate. He is not one to seek the bright lights of center stage. Compared to the usual hype-types in this business, he appears to have undergone a charisma bypass. You’ll get ver little jive from Rocky Lockridge.

    His speech is the antithesis of his manager, Lou Duva. Two years at William Paterson College, majoring in communications, have given him a taste of articulation. It isn’t fully in gear, yet, but you sense the effort. It is all part of the conservative image. He often punctuates agreements to questions with either, “very much so” or “most definitely.” Very little of the sour side surfaces and at the same time, neither does false bravado thunder forth.

    He is very deliberate in pacing his conversation, as if grasping and arranging the flow and content of his response to paint the image of a schooled and astute individual. Answers often have a stilted quality about them. The texture comes close to an understated elegance. Not so much contrived mind you, but certainly a style achieved through conscious grooming.

    It is a grooming that carries over to his physical appearance as well. Note the short, close cropped hair, the very neatly trimmed mustache and goatee. He has that refined yet cool I’m together look of the young professional who reads G.Q. and makes notes on the articles and ads.

    Lockridge doesn’t hit you over the head with his presence or personality. He’s no Howitzer back slappin’ loud mouth. You’ll not see the paparazzi crowd crawling around his front door. It’s the three C’s for the new WBA-junior-lightweight king: cool, calm, and collected. What do you say about a guy who speaks softly and doesn’t even carry a stick. As someone said of him, “Rocky could get lost in a crowd of mannequins, he’s s quiet and unassuming.”

    Keeping it under wraps is Rocky’s style. The quiet hello speaks volumes about the man. His peaceful demeanor is often misconstrued. Silence can be threatening. As the late psychiatrist Joost A. Meerloo observed in The Strategy of silence: “In its protective function, silence expresses reserve and privacy, creating a psychic vacuum around a person that shows the respect of refusing to intrude upon others. The vacuum of silence is experienced by most…, as a sinister thread and may express brooding resentment,…,or fear of verbal aggression.”

    Even trainer George Benton adds to the over-all precise and thought-out approach. In his heyday as the uncrowned middleweight champ (why not), George was the epitome of the ultra-cool ring persona. Rocky has heeded the word and discipline shapes the studied style as well as the studied smile.

    We have no street hardened toughie here. No jailhouse university graduate. No super-bad super-fly. Why, the only full-length coat he has in his closet is not tailored from fur, but rather London Fog.

    It could have been otherwise. It could have been the street life for him. “My upbringing was devastating to the point that I should be a more violent type person, says Rocky about his childhood in Tacoma, Washington. “I lived a hard life. There was nothing easy. My mother was on welfare and it seems as though I should be a little more aggressive, rather than the type of person I am.”

    Lockridge credits boxing with easing the hardships. It caught him at a very early age and through the discipline needed of mind and body, he got a solid shot at molding a solid citizen. “I was eight-and-a-half, nine when I began,” says Rocky. “Boxing being a disciplinary type profession, you (had) to understand and relate. I developed a personality in terms of the idea of boxing. I’m a fighter, not a bully. It’s discipline to the point that you respect everybody.”

    Talk about your respect and self-control. When it comes to decorum in the boxing trade, Rocky Lockridge looks like he’s straight out of The Wharton School of Business. You could easily envision that the biggest kick he gets outside the ring is clipping supermarket cents-off coupons.

    For excitement, Rocky and his wife Carolyn trip the light-fantastic by, “going to the park, the movies, talking, communicating.” He does enjoy basketball, roller staking (he hasn’t done much of either in recent years, injuries you know, got to have that discipline) and music.

    His love of music actually kept him so preoccupied that he passed up trying out for the 1976 Olympic team. “Ricky (Rocky’s real name) Lockridge and the Ready-Made Family”, was a local standout in and around Tacoma. The group didn’t last very long, but music still plays only second fiddle to boxing and Carolyn.

    “If time permits”, says Rocky, (now that he is champion) “I can go to the studio. For me it is a natural talent. You don’t lose it. I’m constantly with music—there is nothing lost.”

    Rocky has been involved with boxing since the age of eight when he followed an older brother to the local youth center in Tacoma. He was amazed to see even little kids punching the bags. As he put it, “the following day I had the gloves on and I enjoyed it right off.” Enjoying it, meant taking it seriously. At age fourteen, he won his first Junior Olympic title – at 90 pounds. From there he went on to win national AAU and Golden Gloves championships and end his simon-pure days with a 210-8 record.
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2019
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  2. mrkoolkevin

    mrkoolkevin Never wrestle with pigs or argue with fools Full Member

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    [PART 2]

    He started his pro career in Seattle but then moved east. “The guy I had a contract with knew my potential but didn’t know that much about boxing.” Some calls were made and Lou Duva stepped into the picture.

    At first, Rocky and Carolyn settiled in Paterson, N.J. Within two years, they moved to the south Jersey community of Maple Shade. This made it easier for him to cross over into Philadelphia for training under the tutelage of Benton.

    “He is all man,” says Benton. “I had seen him in Las Vegas as an amateur. I liked him then. I saw things and said to myself, boy, what I could do with him.”
    In only his eighth bout, Lockridge took the New Jersey featherweight title from Gerald Hayes. It was a sterling performance over twelve rounds. He stopped Fel Clemente three fights later for the USBA crown. Of course he lost that belt when Juan LaPorte landed one of the most paralyzing right hands ever thrown on Rocky’s chin. The second round defeat was the low point of his career.

    Lockridge’s two decision defeats to Eusebio Pedroza, for the WBA 126-pount title, were considered oh-so-close and certainly no disgrace.

    With his options as a featherweight limited, Rocky moved up to 130-pounds and surprised most everyone with a beautiful display of in-and-out boxing, after he was floored in the first round, to easily outpoint Cornelius Boza-Edwards. A shot in the arm indeed. It came at the right time and in the right place; as a closed circuit prelim to the Pryor-Arguello rematch.

    “Black Mamba” would be next.

    Rocky had one flaw that stood out. He would arc his right hand, up, over, and then down. Never did it just whistle down the proverbial pipe. His “flaw” proved otherwise against Mayweather. Roger had a flaw as well. Against him, Rocky’s arcing right was not just coming down over the top fo the ducking opponent. Mayweather, being taller, stood right in the path. The right hand never had the chance to go over the top—it met flesh at it’s zenith. As to those who say a following right elbow was the real finisher—bah-humbug.

    As for winning the title; sure it was great but: “It’s not even a mission accomplished,” says Rocky,” it’s a goal achieved. You got to hold onto it as long as you can (to accomplish the mission) and gain happiness and become content. Here is no real success unless you continue to live the way you live or learning the way you learn. I’m trying to be as wise as I possibly can. I’m trying to be even more conservative than I am

    At times, Lockridge’s choice of words may leave the listener with a feeling that this guy is really impertinent to the point of being a smart aleck. Asked by Ferdie Pacheco if he was surprised by the quick ending of the title fight, Rocky questioned the heart of Mayweather (as a champion) for not trying harder to get up. Hell Rock, the man got hit. You ought to know how that feels. Chalk that one up to the excitement of the moment.

    Kathy Duva, (wife of promoter Dan Diva and PR director for Main Events) says that Rocky, “is one of the beset persons I know. It’s amazing how much I admire him.” Could it be so, simply because Rocky says of himself, “I’m a very modest person. I’m the nicest person in the world.”

    Bragging? It’s more like an inner self-confidence still being nurtured. Some who never shut up, never really say anything. Rocky doesn’t open up easily. If silence is a priority, then what you say must be chosen carefully; as well as how you say it.

    Some cannot handle fortune and fame—they get caught up in a fairy tale world. If they don’t have a level head on their shoulders, they become jaded Championship times bring experiences too much and too soon for many and it destroys them. Rocky is in training—always has been. The lord of discipline is still “fighting” to champion over himself.
     
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