Michael Dokes

Michael Dokes
File:Michael Dokes.jpg
Statistics
Real name	Michael Dokes
Nickname(s)	Dynamite
Rated at	Heavyweight
Nationality	American
Born	(1958-08-10)August 10, 1958 Akron, Ohio
Died	Akron, Ohio
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	61
Wins	53
Wins by KO	33
Losses	6
Draws	2
No contests	0
Medal record Men’s Boxing Representing United States Pan American Games Mexico City 1975 Heavyweight

Michael Marshall Dokes (August 10, 1958 – August 11, 2012) was an American boxer, nicknamed "Dynamite." Dokes is a former WBA heavyweight champion, and holds notable wins over Jimmy Young, Ossie Ocasio, Randall Cobb, Mike Weaver and Jesse Ferguson.

Amateur career

Dokes won a silver medal at the 1975 Pan American Games. He lost a 3-2 split decision to Teófilo Stevenson in the finals. He also lost a close decision to John Tate in the Olympic Trials, after which he turned professional.

Amateur accomplishments

• 1975 National AAU Heavyweight Champion
• 1976 National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion, beating future pro champs John Tate and Greg Page en route.
• As an underage 15-year-old, made it to the finals of both the 1974 National Golden Gloves and the National AAU tournaments.He lost to Leon Spinks in AAU final, and future Tyson trainer Bobby Stewart in the Golden Gloves final.
• Won 1974 North American championships.
• Beat Marvin Stinson, who won the 1976 National AAU Heavyweight Championship.

Pro career

Dokes turned professional in 1976. He received national exposure in a televised exhibition with Muhammad Ali in 1977, which saw Ali clown and mug while slipping Dokes' punches, but also revealed glimpses of Dokes' potential. He came to real prominence in 1979 by defeating veteran contender Jimmy Young. His career faltered slightly after fighting to a draw with Ossie Ocasio, but Dokes returned to knock out Ocasio in one round soon thereafter. By early 1982, after a first round knockout of Lynn Ball to win the NABF title, Dokes was in line for a title shot. He was ranked #2 by the WBC and #3 by the WBA. Dokes became WBA heavyweight champion in 1982 by knocking out Mike Weaver in the first round in a match held weeks after the Mancini-Kim fight that ended in Kim's death. Because of Nevada State Athletic Commission instructions to referee Joey Curtis regarding the stoppage of the fight in light of the incident, some felt it was premature. In the rematch, Dokes retained his title on a majority draw.

Dokes's reign as the WBA title holder was short-lived. He lost his title by a tenth round knockout to Gerrie Coetzee. He was later knocked out by future champion Evander Holyfield in a fight which was called the "Heavyweight Fight of the Year" in 1989, and the "Heavyweight Fight of the Decade" for the 1980s.

Dokes was knocked out by Razor Ruddock in 1990. In 1993, Dokes faced newly crowned heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe in his first title defense since defeating Evander Holyfield. Bowe won by TKO in the first round. Although Dokes and his team protested that the fight was stopped prematurely, it was obvious that Dokes was in no condition to continue after taking a vicious barrage of punches from the heavy hitting Bowe. After a nearly three year hiatus, Dokes returned to the ring winning 3 out 5 matches over a two year period before retiring for good in 1997.

Honors

Dokes was named The Ring magazine Comeback of the Year fighter for 1988.

Professional boxing record

53 Wins (34 knockouts, 19 decisions), 6 Losses (5 knockouts, 1 decision), 2 Draws [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	53–6–1	Paul "Rocky" Phillips	TKO	2	11/10/1997	Erlanger, Kentucky, United States
Loss	53–5–1	Louis "The Facelifter" Monaco	PTS	10	05/04/1997	Denver, Colorado, United States
Win	53–4–1	Doug "Dig-em-Up" Davis	PTS	10	10/12/1996	Tempe, Arizona, United States
Win	52–4–1	Dave Fiddler	KO	2	27/07/1996	Rochester, Washington, United States
Win	51–4–1	Dave Slaughter	KO	3	18/11/1995	Aurora, Colorado, United States
Loss	50–4–1	Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe	TKO	1	06/02/1993	New York City, United States	IBF/WBA World Heavyweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 2:19 of the first round.
Win	50–3–1	Barry Forbes	UD	10	27/10/1992	Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	49–3–1	Jose "El Nino" Ribalta	SD	10	06/10/1992	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	48–3–1	Jesse "The Boogieman" Ferguson	UD	10	28/07/1992	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	99-90, 98-91, 97-92.
Win	47–3–1	Danny "Smiley" Sutton	KO	3	16/04/1992	New York City, United States
Win	46–3–1	Percell "Magic" Davis	RTD	5	21/03/1992	Cleveland, Ohio, United States	Davis did not come out for the sixth round.
Win	45–3–1	Danny Wofford	TKO	9	14/02/1992	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	44–3–1	Danny Stonewalker	TKO	6	21/01/1992	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:39 of the sixth round.
Win	43–3–1	Tyrone Armstrong	KO	4	27/12/1991	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Armstrong knocked out at 1:32 of the fourth round.
Win	42–3–1	John "Big Red" Morton	PTS	8	29/11/1991	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	41–3–1	Donovan "Razor" Ruddock	TKO	4	04/04/1990	New York City, United States	WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:53 of the fourth round.
Win	41–2–1	Jorge Alfredo "El Gringo" Dascola	TKO	11	05/02/1990	Inglewood, California, United States	WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:05 of the 11th round.
Win	40–2–1	Lionel Washington	TKO	8	13/11/1989	Inglewood, California, United States	WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:49 of the eighth round.
Win	39–2–1	Wesley Watson	TKO	3	24/08/1989	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:25 of the third round.
Win	38–2–1	Bobby Crabtree	KO	1	13/07/1989	New York City, United States
Loss	37–2–1	Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield	TKO	10	11/03/1989	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:41 of the 10th round.
Win	37–1–1	Rocky Sekorski	UD	12	09/12/1988	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. 120-106, 120-107, 120-106.
Win	36–1–1	Curtis "Coffee Man" Isaac	TKO	4	27/10/1988	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:21 of the fourth round.
Win	35–1–1	Manoel De Almeida	TKO	4	28/07/1988	New York City, United States
Win	34–1–1	Andrew Stokes	TKO	1	27/06/1988	New York City, United States
Win	33–1–1	James Pritchard	TKO	7	28/04/1988	New York City, United States	WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title.
Win	32–1–1	Eddie Richardson	TKO	10	24/02/1988	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:15 of the tenth round.
Win	31–1–1	Ken Lakusta	TKO	7	22/01/1988	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the seventh round.
Win	30–1–1	Kevin "K.P." Porter	TKO	5	17/12/1987	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:25 of the fifth round.
Win	29–1–1	Randall "Tex" Cobb	TD	4	15/03/1985	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:03 of the fourth round due to an accidental foul. 29-28, 29-28, 28-29.
Win	28–1–1	Young "Joe" Louis	TKO	2	16/02/1985	Kingston, New York, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:29 of the second round.
Win	27–1–1	Mike Jameson	UD	10	31/08/1984	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	99-91, 98-92, 98-92.
Loss	26–1–1	Gerrie Coetzee	TKO	10	23/09/1983	Richfield, Ohio, United States	WBA World Heavyweight Title. Dokes knocked out at 3:08 of the tenth round.
Draw	26–0–1	Mike "Hercules" Weaver	PTS	15	20/05/1983	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBA World Heavyweight Title. 143-143, 144-144, 145-141.
Win	26–0	Mike "Hercules" Weaver	TKO	1	10/12/1982	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBA World Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:03 of the first round.
Win	25–0	Tommy Franco Thomas	KO	5	20/03/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	NABF Heavyweight Title.
Win	24–0	Lynn "Bullet" Ball	TKO	1	30/01/1982	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	NABF Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:56 of the first round.
Win	23–0	George Chaplin	UD	10	06/11/1981	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	22–0	Harry Terrell	KO	1	09/08/1981	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	21–0	John Lewis Gardner	KO	4	12/06/1981	Detroit, Michigan, United States	Gardner knocked out at 1:54 of the fourth round.
Win	20–0	Randall "Tex" Cobb	MD	10	22/03/1981	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	95-95, 96-94, 97-94.
Win	19–0	Tom "Roughhouse" Fischer	TKO	7	02/10/1980	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:17 of the seventh round.
Win	18–0	Ossie "Jaws" Ocasio	TKO	1	27/06/1980	San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:33 of the first round.
Win	17–0	Lucien Rodriguez	UD	10	10/02/1980	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	16–0	Earl Tripp	KO	1	13/01/1980	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	15–0	Jimmy Young	UD	10	28/09/1979	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	14–0	Willie McIntyre	KO	2	20/07/1979	West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Win	13–0	Greg Sorrentino	KO	3	12/05/1979	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	12–0	Wendell Bailey	SD	10	23/03/1979	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	11–0	Ira Martin	TKO	8	08/12/1978	New York City, United States
Win	10–0	Eugene Green	PTS	8	27/10/1978	New York City, United States
Win	9–0	Terry Mims	UD	8	26/09/1978	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	8–0	Dan Johnson	UD	6	29/04/1978	Inglewood, California, United States
Win	7–0	Abdul "Mel Rush" Khan	UD	8	25/03/1978	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	6–0	George "Moonport Mauler" Holden	KO	3	03/03/1978	Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
Win	5–0	"Savage" Ed Turner	PTS	6	10/04/1977	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	4–0	Charlie "Big Tuna" Jordan	TKO	3	06/03/1977	Marion, Ohio, United States
Win	3–0	Dave "Doc" Wilson	PTS	4	29/01/1977	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	2–0	Sergio Rodriguez	TKO	2	16/01/1977	Pensacola, Florida, United States
Win	1–0	Al "Hoss" Byrd	TK0	2	15/10/1976	Hollywood, Florida, United States

Life after boxing

In 1999 Dokes was sentenced to between four and 15 years in prison after being convicted of an attack on his fiancee in August 1998. Late in 2008, Dokes was released on parole. Dokes died of liver cancer at a hospice in Akron in August 2012 – a day after his 54th birthday.

References

• Professional boxing record for Michael Dokes from BoxRec

Achievements
Preceded by Dwain Bonds	United States Amateur Heavyweight Champion 1975	Succeeded by Marvin Stinson
Vacant Title last held by Leroy Jones	NABF Heavyweight Champion 30 January 1982 - 10 December 1982 Vacated	Succeeded by Tim Witherspoon
Preceded by Mike Weaver	Heavyweight boxing champion (WBA) 1982–1983	Succeeded by Gerrie Coetzee
Vacant Title last held by Leon Spinks	WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion 28 April 1988 - 11 March 1989	Succeeded by Evander Holyfield
New title	WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight Champion 13 November 1989 - 4 April 1990	Succeeded by Razor Ruddock