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Not a great deal of insight in this report from The Star Ledger - a local paper in Camden, NJ. Former world champion Super Featherweight, Rocky Lockridge tells his story.

Lockridge took a job working for William Jones & Son, Inc. in Camden, a drum and barrel company on Liberty Street, where he cleaned and painted barrels for $8 per hour starting in January 1994.

Shortly thereafter, he was arrested for burglary — the first time — but was sentenced to five years probation, according to court records. Three years later, he was arrested for burglary again, this time serving 27 months before being released in July of 1999.

He hasn’t worked since.

When he got out of jail, he found he had nowhere to go and ended up on the streets.

“I don’t know exactly what happened or how it happened or what happened at that particular time in my life,” he says.

One thing he does remember is going back to using drugs.

“I knew a lot of people who I partied with here in Camden after a victory,” he says.

Lockridge says that if you’re going to be homeless, Camden is the place to be. There are many different places that will give you a free meal, many shelters that will put you up for a night.

Lockridge lives on the $140 a month and food stamps he receives from the government — as well as pocket change he gets from panhandling. He says the stroke he suffered three years ago makes it difficult to walk, no less hold a job.
John O’Boyle/The Star-LedgerRocky Lockridge walks along a street in Camden.

He sleeps in shelters occasionally but admits he’s had issues committing to a shelter because the curfew is sometimes as early as 7 p.m. Lately, he has slept in a mosquito-infested abandoned row house around the block from his regular corner.

And he continues to have troubles with the law, though his last arrest — for criminal trespassing in May — resulted only in community service.

…
As he sits on his stoop, smoking a cigarette, he talks about why he is finally ready to turn his life around, find a place to live, give up drinking and drugs.

“I’m going to get it back together and say no to drugs,” he said. “I’ve got a family that I want to spend some time with ’til my time is up on Planet Earth. I’m on a mission now, perhaps even greater than my mission before. My kids need me in their lives, experience being the best teacher.”
John O’Boyle/The Star-LedgerRocky Lockridge (left) jokes with his friend Charles Braxton on a street corner in Camden.

Lockridge says he recently was tracked down by his son, Ricky, now 24, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area near Lamar. The twins were surprised to find out a few months ago that they have a half-brother, Ramond Dixon, 22, born in Camden but who now also lives in the D.C. area. The three have become close — but they remain distant from their father.

“I remember spending time with him when I was 3 or 4, but he was never there at a steady pace,” Ramond, known as “Ron-Ron,” says. “Even though my dad wasn’t there for me growing up, I never really had harsh feelings. I never was really upset. As a man now I can see that people make mistakes.”

Ricky Lockridge has mixed feelings.

“It’s sad. It hurts,” he says about his dad’s predicament. “But I never lost confidence in my dad, he’s a strong person.”

Lockridge says reuniting with his boys is his inspiration for cleaning up his life.

“Now I’m ready for this, mentally and physically, to get me back on track,” Lockridge says. “I am in dire need of that kind of support and I want it. I’ve been knocked down. Now I’m finally ready to get back up.”

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“It hurts. It hurts. In more ways than one, it hurts. How can you be a great man, father and husband … how can you be a great champion and not be a great father, husband? Dad? It hurts. But I’m still alive. I can’t make up for the lost time, but I can just get there, be there, spend the rest of the time with my wife and children and give them the time that I have left.”