Rick "Rocky" Lockridge (January 10, 1959 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional boxer. He is perhaps best known for having handed Roger Mayweather his first defeat—a first-round knockout in just 98 seconds—earning him the WBA and lineal super featherweight titles. He later won the IBF super featherweight title. He is also known from his 2010 appearance on the A&E television series Intervention and a meme of him crying that was made from the show.
Early life and career Rocky Lockridge was born on January 10, 1959, in Tacoma, Washington. After relocating to Paterson, New Jersey, at 19 years old in 1978, he made his debut fight in the professional ring on August 9, defeating Tony Reed by TKO. On September 18, 1979, he defeated Gerald Hayes via unanimous decision to win the New Jersey State Featherweight Championship, and on February 19, 1980, he won by TKO against Fel Clemente to win the USA Featherweight Champion title.
On October 4, 1980, he fought for the WBA World Featherweight title against Eusebio Pedroza, losing by a majority decision; this defeat was Lockridge's first in the professional ring. On April 6, 1981, he retained the New Jersey featherweight title by defeating Ernesto Gonzalez by unanimous decision. On August 22, 1981, in a fight for the US featherweight title, he was knocked out by Juan Laporte. On April 24, 1983, he met Pedroza again in the fight for the WBA featherweight title, losing by unanimous decision.
On February 26, 1984, he knocked out the undefeated Roger Mayweather in round one and won the WBA junior-lightweight world championship. After defeating Mayweather, Lockridge and his wife Carolyn moved to Mount Laurel, New Jersey, where they gave birth to twin sons Ricky and Lamar on August 23, 1984. Lockridge made two successful title defenses: on June 12, 1984, he won by TKO in round eleven against Tae Jin Moon, and on January 27, 1985, he won by TKO in round six against Kamel Bou-Ali, a future WBO world junior-lightweight champion himself. However, on May 15 of the same year, he lost the title by majority decision to Wilfredo Gómez.
On August 3, 1986, he lost by majority decision in the fight for the WBC world junior-lightweight title to the undefeated Julio César Chávez. On August 9, 1987, Lockridge defeated Barry Michael after Michael refused to continue the fight after the 8th round and won the IBF world junior-lightweight championship. On October 25, 1987, he defeated Johnny de la Rosa and defended the title, and on April 2, 1988, by unanimous decision, he defeated Harold Knight and again defended his title. On July 23, 1988, he lost by unanimous decision to Tony Lopez and lost his title to the Mexican-American. On March 5, 1989, a rematch took place between Lopez and Lockridge, which ended in the same way as the first fight. After the second defeat to Lopez, Lockridge retired following a victory against Mike Zena in 1989.
Later years and death Lockridge returned with his family to Tacoma in 1991 – 18 months following his retirement from boxing – and he and Carolyn separated shortly thereafter due to financial stress and Rocky's addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine. 30 months after his original retirement, Lockridge attempted a comeback under new management in Washington, but both his fights in this period ended in losses. In 1993, Lockridge moved to Camden, New Jersey, alone, and began working as a cleaner and painter for a drum and barrel company in January 1994. Shortly after, he was arrested for burglary and sentenced to five years probation. Three years later, he was arrested on a similar charge and served 27 months in prison before being released in July 1999. Lockridge spent the following years in homelessness, living on a monthly $140 and food stamps provided by the government, as well as pocket change from panhandling. Lockridge also lived in abandoned homes until he suffered a stroke in 2006, requiring him to use a cane. Lockridge was eventually brought by his family onto the A&E television series Intervention in 2010. A scene from the episode, in which an emotional Lockridge loudly wails, became an internet meme titled "best cry ever". Following this appearance, Lockridge spent 90 days in a facility, and had remained sober since. Lockridge suffered another stroke in 2012, then he died on February 7, 2019, at the age of 60, after being placed on home hospice care following multiple strokes. He was removed from life support about one week prior to his death. In the weeks preceding his death, he was hooked to a feeding tube due to an inability to swallow, and suffered from aspiration pneumonia. His caretaker had set up a GoFundMe to help cover his medical expenses.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes53Loss44–9Sharmba MitchellUD10Apr 22, 199252Loss44–8Rafael RuelasUD10Jan 30, 199251Win44–7Mike ZenaKO8 (10)Jun 18, 198950Loss43–7Tony LopezUD12Mar 5, 198949Loss43–6Tony LopezUD12Jul 23, 198848Win43–5Harold KnightUD15Apr 2, 198847Win42–5Johnny De La RosaTKO10 (15)Oct 25, 198746Win41–5Barry MichaelRTD8 (15)Aug 9, 198745Win40–5Dennis CruzKO7 (10)May 24, 198744Win39–5Felipe OrozcoUD10Oct 22, 198643Loss38–5Julio César ChávezMD12Aug 3, 198642Win38–4Efrain NievesTKO3 (10)Mar 12, 198641Win37–4Fernando SeguraTKO4 (10)Dec 18, 198540Loss36–4Wilfredo GómezMD15May 19, 198539Win36–3Kamel Bou AliTKO6 (15)Jan 27, 198538Win35–3Julio LlerenaKO6 (10)Jul 29, 198437Win34–3Tae Jin MoonTKO11 (15)Jun 12, 198436Win33–3Roger MayweatherKO1 (15)Feb 26, 198435Win32–3Jeff GoodwinTKO3 (10)Nov 23, 198334Win31–3Cornelius Boza-EdwardsUD10Sep 9, 198333Win30–3Danny CruzTKO1 (10)Jul 14, 198332Loss29–3Eusebio PedrozaUD15Apr 24, 1983 31Win29–2Alberto CollazoTKO9 (10)Nov 24, 198230Win28–2Angel LiraTKO6 (10)Sep 25, 198229Win27–2Miguel Angel HernandezTKO3 (10)Aug 22, 198228Win26–2Daniel FelizardoKO2 (10)Jun 24, 198227Win25–2Jose NietoTKO8 (10)May 23, 198226Win24–2Robert MullinsTKO5 (10)Apr 10, 198225Win23–2Jose ResendezTKO5 (10)Mar 14, 198224Win22–2Tony TrisUD10Dec 10, 198123Win21–2Refugio RojasMD10Nov 12, 198122Loss20–2Juan LaporteKO2 (12)Aug 22, 198121Win20–1Sergio ReyesTKO3 (10)May 21, 198120Win19–1Ernesto GonzalezUD12Apr 6, 198119Win18–1Ernesto GonzalezKO1 (10)Jan 22, 198118Win17–1Benny MarquezTKO3 (10)Dec 18, 198017Loss16–1Eusebio PedrozaSD15Oct 4, 198016Win16–0Livio NolascoTKO4 (10)Aug 21, 198015Win15–0Alfonso EvansTKO5 (10)Jul 13, 198014Win14–0Marcial SantiagoTKO3 (8)Jun 19, 198013Win13–0Joey MayesTKO2 (10)Apr 1, 198012Win12–0Richard RozelleKO2 (10)Mar 8, 198011Win11–0Fel ClementeTKO7 (12)Feb 19, 198010Win10–0Sammy GossTKO5 (12)Jan 8, 19809Win9–0José OrtizKO2 (10)Oct 30, 19798Win8–0Gerald HayesUD12Sep 18, 19797Win7–0Ronnie GreenKO1 (6)May 31, 19796Win6–0Francisco MaldonadoKO2 (6)Apr 27, 19795Win5–0Melvin BoyntonKO2 (6)Apr 17, 19794Win4–0Melvin BetheaKO1 (6)Mar 13, 19793Win3–0Tony HernandezTKO1 (6)Nov 14, 19782Win2–0Jose Luis LaraUD6Oct 5, 19781Win1–0Tony ReedTKO2 (4)Aug 9, 1978
See also List of super featherweight boxing champions List of WBA world champions List of IBF world champions
References
External links
Rocky Lockridge - CBZ Profile