RICHARD FOWLER

Nickname: TIGER



 Albuquerque's Richard "Tiger" Fowler started his pro boxing career with back-to-back losses, being stopped in 2 rounds by a very skilled Jerry Martinez, and then losing a 4 round decision to Randy McNurlin.

   Fowler didn't give up on his dreams and put together a 3 fight win streak on local undercards in Albuquerque.  At 3-2 he was put in against an undefeated hot prospect out of San Diego, California named "Sweet" Irving Mitchell who was 12-0 with 11 KOs.  Fowler lost a unanimous decision, but he proved his toughness going the full 8 rounds against an undefeated fighter who would go on to challenge for the USBA and WBA titles.

   Richard's showing against Irving Mitchell earned him a reputation as a tough guy who could test a prospect, and he was then put in against another undefeated prospect - Fort Worth TX's Steve Cruz - who was 6-0 winning all 6 by knockout. Fowler was stopped in 2 rounds by the young prospect. Cruz would go on to win the WBA World title with a shocking 15 round decision win over Barry McGuigan.

   Fowler was now looked upon as a gatekeeper for up-and-coming prospects.  He returned to New Mexico and scored a decision win over fellow Albuquerque boxer Frank Cordova.  He then lost 2 fights in a row: being stopped in 3 rounds by Adrian Arreola at the Olympic auditorium in Los Angeles, and then dropping a close majority decision to Ramon Flores in El Paso, Texas.

   With a 4-6 record Richard went on an impressive 7-fight win streak with 3 knockout wins in that mix.  He now had a winning record at 11-6 and was starting to be looked at as a fringe contender. 

   Richard was put in tough against the USBA champion - Jimmy "Ringmaster" Paul in a non-title bout. The fight was held at Joe Louis arena in Paul's hometown of Detroit, Michigan on the undercard of Thomas Hearn's title defense against Luigi Minchillo, and Matthew Saad Muhammad's NABF title fight against Willie "Sandman" Edwards.  It was a big stage for Fowler who was put into a 12 round non-title fight against a world ranked USBA Champion in that champion's home town. Richard was tko'd in the 9th round by Paul.

   From that point on, Fowler would go on to face some of the best fighters in the world.  He went through an 0-7-1 stretch which included losses to - Lester Ellis (11-0), Ricky Lehman (11-1), Robert Guy (5-0), Courtney Hooper (15-1), Kamel Bou-Ali (26-3-1), Meldrick Taylor (16-0-1), and he earned a 10-round Draw against Arizona's Joey Medina (11-3) in Phoenix Arizona. 

   Fowler then scored a shocking upset against Denmark's undefeated Lars Lund Jensen (7-0) via 5th round Technical Knockout IN DENMARK!  That was probably Richard's greatest win, but not his last!

   "Tiger" Fowler engaged 6 more top names from the boxing world and lost 6 in a row against - Floyd Havard (16-0), Luca De Lorenzi (20-1), Lupe "Little Guns" Gutierrez (17-1), Jose Lupe Lopez (5-1), Tony Pep (19-4), and Sergio Vela (11-2-1), ALL in the opponent's back yards!  Fowler had earned a reputation as a gate-keepr for the division, but he never said no to any fight offered to him, and he earned his respect as an outstanding journeyman pro.

   May 7, 1993 saw Richard "Tiger" Fowler earn his final victory against free swinging mexican slugger Leobardo Mancillas.  The bout went the full 6 rounds, and ended with scores of: Larry Chavez 59-56, Roger Smith 60-56, and my own scorecard of 59-56, all in favor of Albuquerque's "Tiger" Fowler.

   After a 2 year layoff, Fowler returned to the ring for a farewell bout against fellow Albuquerque favorite Rick Ortega.  This time I was one of the 3 judges who all had it in favor of Ortega. 60-54 x 2, and 60 - 56.

See Fowler's final match here: RICHARD FOWLER vs RICK ORTEGA - Full Fight

    Albuquerque's Richard Fowler ended his career with a final record of: 13 wins, 20 defeats, and 1 draw, winning 5 by knockout.  A bit of a deceiving record when you consider the level of opposition the man faced over his 20 year career!


RICHARD FOWLER'S COMPLETE RECORD ON BOXREC