African Welterweight Champion Tiger Wins His First U.S. Bout at Universal

Dick Tiger he isn’t.

Not yet.

But few who watched Charles Nwokolo fight Wednesday night at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City could doubt the bloodlines.

Nwokolo, nephew of the late middleweight and light heavyweight champion, scored a unanimous 10-round decision over Rigo Lopez in the main event, before a crowd of more than 300.

Nwokolo, who fights under the name Young Dick Tiger, improved to 15-0, including 12 knockouts.

The other 14 victories, however, came in Africa, where the Nigerian is the welterweight champion.

Lopez, who lives in San Diego, fell to 15-2.

Tiger, 148, hurt his hand in the third round, but was the aggressor most of the fight, landing one punishing body shot after another on Lopez.

Lopez, 148, tired noticeably in the late rounds and appeared ready to go down at the final bell, but the fight ended without a knockdown.