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. Lockridge started boxing as an amateur out of the Tacoma Boys Club. Being one of four world champions to originate from Tacoma (including Freddie Steele, Leo Randolph and Johnny Bumphus), his highlights as an amateur include:
1977 National AAU Bantamweight Champion, stopping David Douglas of the U.S. Army in the second round of the final.
1978 National Golden Gloves Runner Up in Bantamweight Class
1978 Runner Up in National AAU Championships in Bantamweight Class, losing to Jackie Beard in Biloxi, MS
Defeated in the quarter-finals of the World Amateur Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia by Fazlija Šaćirović (2-3)
Later years and death
For the last two decades of his life, Lockridge had drug problems. He became homeless and suffered a stroke which forced him to walk with a cane. He was featured on A&E's Intervention TV series, on which he claimed that the intervention and the help of his sons saved his life. His appearance on the show is noted for a notorious moment where his son Lamar says, "Because I know, somewhere deep down in my heart, I still love you," which caused Lockridge to break down crying hard enough to the point where he was screaming at the top of his lungs. This spawned the internet meme "Best Cry Ever".
He was also caught on video defending himself by knocking out a bully with a single one-two jab-cross combination near a convenience store.[6] In interviews, he expressed a desire to be drug-free, having stated that he had never been this clean, even in his fighting days. "I feel so good today that if I hadn't suffered the stroke I would go for a title shot," he stated. He was also interested in becoming a boxing trainer. Lockridge died on February 7, 2019 at the age of 60, after being placed on home hospice care following another series of strokes. He was removed from life support about one week prior to his death.
