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Chatting with the champ: Former Omaha heavyweight Dickie Ryan

George Foreman, who I sparred with, hit the hardest; he was so strong, he could really punch.

Dickie Ryan

 

By Bill Tibbs

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Dickie Ryan
Dickie Ryan

He was rough, rugged and a solid heavyweight who traded shots with some of the division’s best during his era.

 

Despite the fact that he never fought for a world title, Omaha, Nebraska’s Dickie Ryan, would put together a very impressive run over a 20+ year career that would see him climb through the ropes in, among other locales, New York City, Las Vegas and Germany. Ryan amassed a resume that saw him record 55 wins in 65 fights, with 44 coming before the final bell, battling the likes of Buster Douglas, Vitali Klitchko, Hasim Rahman and Shannon Briggs.

 

While one might not think of Corn Husker, football-crazed Omaha, Nebraska as a boxing hot bed, Ryan proudly emerged from the city that saw local heavyweight legend Ron “The Butcher” Stander battle the likes of Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Ernie Shavers - Butcher still carries local legend status.

 

And, Omaha is also the home of undefeated, multiple world champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, a fighter that many are currently referring to as simply the best fighter in boxing.

 

While nobody would confuse Dickie with Fred Astaire or Willie Pep in regards to his fighting style, he was a rough and rugged brawler who would, and could, trade with some of the best in the world during his time.

 

Maxboxing had a chance to catch up with the easy-going, soft-spoken Ryan to get his thoughts on his career and his memories of his time in the ring.

 

Bill Tibbs: Hi Dickie, how are you doing? Thanks for taking a minute to chat.

 

Dickie Ryan: Good Bill, thanks, just relaxing and watching some football.

 

BT: Tell me a bit about your amateur career. Were you always into boxing and was the goal always to turn pro?

 

DR: Well, I played all sorts of sports growing up as a kid. I was always around the gym but never was boxing really seriously. But, I did win the Mid-West Golden gloves although I only had about 10 or 12 amateur fights. I went to Nebraska to play football after high school but I wasn’t much for the school part of it, but I still thought I should go. Anyway, I quit in my second year there and I was driving home and my car broke down, and guess who pulls over to help me? Bruce Strauss.

 

BT: Really? ‘The Mouse’ shows up. Like divine intervention (laughs).

 

DR: Yes, well he pulled over to help me and I kind of knew who he was but I didn’t really know him that well and we started talking. I told him about my boxing I had done and he said, ‘why don’t you consider doing some boxing again’. I was planning on just going back to Omaha and getting a job at the plant there. But anyway, I decided to box and connected with (matchmaker) Pete Susens and (promoter) Fred Berns, and Mouse, and that’s basically how it started.

 

BT: You faced some really good fighters. Let me hit you with some quick questions. Hardest puncher?

 

DR: Shannon Briggs was a hard puncher and (Hasim) Rahman was a very hard puncher also. But, probably George Foreman, who I sparred with, hit the hardest; he was so strong, he could really punch.

 

BT: Did you get a lot of work as a sparring partner?

 

DR: Yeah, I sparred with Alex Stewart, Tommy Morrison, Lennox Lewis and lots of guys. I was also the main sparring partner for Orlin Norris. I went over to France with him when he won the world Cruiserweight title. That was a lot of fun, with Abel Sanchez and Orlin.

 

BT: Best pure boxer?

 

DR: Hmm, you know, Vitali Klitchko was a very good boxer. It was like he could float in there (laughs). He was very sharp.

 

BT: What do you consider your best win?

 

DR: In 1999, I went to Denmark to fight Brian Nielsen who was 49-0 at the time. I was thought of as just an opponent and wasn’t expected to win. I didn’t plan on going right after him early on but I thought I would try to get him into the later rounds and try to get to him when he was tired later in the fight. I ended up stopping him. That was a good win, probably my best win.

 

BT: The fighter that surprised you the most in the ring?

 

DR: I was very surprised by that huge guy, what was his name? He stopped me. Oh yeah, Nikoley Valuev. He caught me early in the fight with a body shot and I had never been really hurt with a body shot before so that really surprised me.

 

BT: Was there a fighter that you tried to model yourself after?

 

DR: Not really anyone that I modeled myself after but I did pick up a lot of things that I could when I worked with other fighters. I learned a lot from J.B. Williamson and also from Frank Minton whom I used to box with and he would show me a lot of things; he was a really good fighter.

 

BT: When you first turned pro, what was the goal? Everyone assumes that every fighter wants to fight for a title but every boxer has different goals.

 

DR: Well I wasn’t really trying to be something or anything I was just trying to do my best in boxing. Do the best I could against whomever I was fighting.

 

BT: Looking back on your career what immediately comes to mind?

 

DR: I had a lot of great adventures because of boxing, met lots of people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I saw the world. I got to travel all over the place and have some really great experiences. I never would have had those if I weren’t boxing. If it weren’t for boxing I never would have gone to the countries and places I did. Boxing took me all over the world.

 

BT: What did you do after boxing?

 

DR: I worked for 19 years for OPP, Omaha Power, and I retired from there.

 

BT: You faced a lot of good fighters. There aren’t many fighters out there with 55 fights, let alone 55 wins. You should look back proudly on your career Dickie. Thanks for the chat.

 

DR: Thanks Bill.

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