'Champ' struggles on the streets

IF HE KEPT his chin down, his fists up and his feet moving, Rocky Lockridge always had a chance in the boxing ring, friends and former opponents said.

But the former super featherweight champion, now 50, hasn't been able to fend off drug and alcohol abuse for decades.

Once described as "the Lord of Discipline," Lockridge lives on the streets of Camden. He was arrested Wednesday night at the corner of 7th and Chestnut streets in the city's Bergen Square neighborhood, where the people who congregate on milk crates nursing tallboys of beer know him as "the champ."

"He's good people, a good man," said a woman who identified herself as "Muss." "He's still the champ."

Lockridge, who once trained at Joe Frazier's North Philadelphia gym, was being held in the Camden County Jail on $1,040 bail yesterday on unspecified municipal charges.

Friends and family said they wanted Lockridge to stay in jail, but yesterday afternoon, Camden police said Lockridge could be released later in the evening.

"We need to get him in a rehab and get him in there for real," said Alex Ramos, a friend of Lockridge's and founder of the Retired Boxers Foundation. "He needs to straighten out and get back out with his family."

Last month, in a profile in the Newark Star-Ledger, Lockridge said partying, a lack of control over finances and bitter feelings toward boxing sent his life off track after his retirement in 1991.

A former resident of Mount Laurel, Burlington County, Lockridge told the Star Ledger he split from his wife, Carolyn, and their two sons in his hometown of Tacoma, Wash., and made his way back to Camden in 1993.

He's been there ever since, living in abandoned houses and homeless shelters. He also spent a little over two years in jail for burglary and parole violations in the late '90s.

"It's a damn shame to see a guy go up that high and fall. That old boy used to be one hell of a fighter," said Claude Britt, owner of the 7th and Kaighn Lounge, a few blocks from Rocky's haunt. "Sometimes folks get so far out on that limb, they can't come back."

There's always been a loose web of support for Lockridge among the people who hang out at 7th and Chestnut, said Orlando Pettigrew, a local mail carrier who has tried to help Lockridge over the past year.

"The streets are kind of looking out for him, if that makes any sense," said Pettigrew, 45, of Camden.

Pettigrew, however, has tried to do a little more, bringing him food and clothes and contacting Lockridge's estranged son.

"Everybody wants to help him, as long as he's rehabilitated," Pettigrew said.

Lockridge, who was trained by the legendary Lou Duva, finished his career with 44 wins, 36 knockouts and 9 losses. Going in as an underdog, he won the World Boxing Association's super featherweight championship, knocking out a then-undefeated Roger Mayweather out in Texas in 1984.

"In a stunner, Rocky Lockridge has knocked out Roger Mayweather in Round 1," commentator Marv Albert bellowed as a throng of supporters lifted Lockridge above the canvas.

After losing the title, Lockridge won the International Boxing Federation's super featherweight title three years later, defeating Australian Barry Michael.

Toward the end of his career, Lockridge defeated then-unbeaten Harold "The Shadow" Knight in a 15-round battle in Atlantic City. Knight, who currently lives in Allentown, was forced to retire after the fight but both boxers are in the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.

"This guy [Lockridge] was just pressure, pressure; tough and in shape," said Knight, 45. "He was just an all-out pro. I pray for him. He just needs to keep fighting."

Ramos said Lockridge could get back into boxing as a trainer if and when he straightens out.

For now, Lockridge will most likely make his way back to 7th and Chestnut streets, hobbling along the way on his cane on the streets he calls home. *