Nwokolo, Still Chasing Fight Legacy, Tries to Get on Track

He came out of Africa three years ago with a flashy name, a flashy record and bright hopes.

He was born Charles Nwokolo, the nephew of Dick Tiger, who rose from poverty to win fame and fortune as a boxer. Tiger was the son of a poor Nigerian chicken farmer who won the world middleweight and light heavyweight championships before dying at 42 of liver cancer in 1971.

Nwokolo decided to assume his uncle’s legacy. And his name.

He left Nigeria with a 14-0 record, 12 by knockout, and the welterweight championship of Africa, and settled in Hollywood as Young Dick Tiger.

But in the ensuing years, he hasn’t quite lived up to the professional standards of old Dick Tiger. Nwokolo is just 12-8 with five knockouts since coming to America. His past two fights have been title shots and he has lost both.

In May, he dropped a 12-round decision in London to Glenwood Brown in a Continental Americas welterweight championship fight. In June, Nwokolo fought for the United States Boxing Assn. junior middleweight title but lost a 12-round decision to Art Serwano in San Jose.

Some fighters, having failed in two title fights in two months, might take time off to rethink their game plan, reassess their lives.

Not Nwokolo.

He went right back to the gym and, on Tuesday, will be right back in the ring for the 10-round main event at The Country Club in Reseda.

His opponent will be junior middleweight Ruben Villaman (26-13-1, 23 knockouts) of Tijuana.

Also on Tuesday’s card will be middleweights Ray McElroy (5-0, four knockouts) of Long Beach and Robert Carson (6-2-2, three knockouts) of Hawthorne in an eight-rounder, and welterweights Stuart Baynes (9-10, five knockouts) of Pasadena and Carlton Brooks (10-6-2, three knockouts) of Los Angeles in another eight-rounder.

The card begins at 7:30 p.m.