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Michael Marshall Dokes (born August 10, 1958, in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio

Akron is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County, Ohio. In 2007, its population was estimated to be 207,934. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland, Ohio to the north and Canton, Ohio to the south, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border....
) is a former American boxer
Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds....
 in the heavyweight
Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or boxing weight classes, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Organization, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing Organization....
 division, nicknamed "Dynamite."

s won a silver medal at the 1975 Pan American Games
Boxing at the 1975 Pan American Games

The boxing tournament at the 1975 Pan American Games was held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26.MEDAL WINNERS ...
. He lost a 3-2 split decision to Teofilio Stevenson in the finals. He also lost a close decision to John Tate in the Olympic Trials, after which he turned professional.


s turned professional in 1976.






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Michael Marshall Dokes (born August 10, 1958, in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio

Akron is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County, Ohio. In 2007, its population was estimated to be 207,934. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland, Ohio to the north and Canton, Ohio to the south, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border....
) is a former American boxer
Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds....
 in the heavyweight
Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or boxing weight classes, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Organization, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing Organization....
 division, nicknamed "Dynamite."

Amateur career

Dokes won a silver medal at the 1975 Pan American Games
Boxing at the 1975 Pan American Games

The boxing tournament at the 1975 Pan American Games was held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26.MEDAL WINNERS ...
. He lost a 3-2 split decision to Teofilio 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
    John Tate

    John Torrence Tate Jr., born March 13, 1925 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is an United States mathematician, distinguished for many fundamental contributions in algebraic number theory and related areas in algebraic geometry....
     and Gregory Page
    Gregory Page

    Three successive generations of the same England family were each named Gregory Page. A wealthy family whose fortune was not inherited but initially accumulated through trade, the Pages were strongly associated with the development of north-west Kent during the 18th century....
     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.


Pro career

Dokes turned professional in 1976. He received national exposure in a televised exhibition with Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is a retired United States boxing and former three-time List of heavyweight boxing champions.As an amateur, Ali won a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in the light heavyweight division gold medal....
 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
Jimmy Young (boxer)

Jimmy Young was a skilled Philadelphia heavyweight boxing who had his greatest success during the 1970s. His career record was 34-19-2 with 11 knockouts....
. His career faltered slightly after fighting to a draw with Ossie Ocasio
Ossie Ocasio

Osvaldo Ocasio, , better known as Ossie Ocasio and nicknamed Jaws, is a Puerto Rico who was a boxing and world Cruiserweight champion. He got his peculiar nickname after accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring session....
, 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
North American Boxing Federation

The North American Boxing Federation is a not-for-profit regional sanctioning body that awards regional boxing titles. It is a boxing federation within the World Boxing Council ....
 title, Dokes was in line for a title shot. He was ranked #2 by the WBC and #3 by the WBA
World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title, at the professional level....
. Dokes became WBA heavyweight champion in 1982 by knocking out Mike Weaver
Mike Weaver

Michael Dwayne Weaver is a former Boxing who is better known in the boxing world simply as Mike Weaver....
 in the first round. A rematch was ordered due to the controversial nature of referee Joey Curtis
Joey Curtis

George Curtis was a former professional boxing, referee and business owner who was licensed to officiate bouts in Las Vegas, Nevada.Curtis, who had an undistinguished career as a boxer, lived in Las Vegas for thirty years....
's stoppage, which some felt 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
Gerrie Coetzee

Gerhardus Christian Coetzee , better known as Gerrie Coetzee, is a South African former boxer. He made history twice: he was the first boxer from the African continent ever to fight for the world Heavyweight title, and the first to win the world Heavyweight title....
. He was later knocked out by future champion Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield is a professional boxing from the United States and a multiple world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"....
 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
Donovan Ruddock

Donovan Ruddock , also known as Razor Ruddock, is a retired Canada heavyweight boxer. He was a promising Heavyweight of the late 1980s and early 1990s, who was known for a powerful left hook, which he called "The Smash." One of the best exhibitions of his left hook power, was his brutal 1990 knockout of former Heavyweight champion Mich...
 in 1990. In 1993, he received a title shot against Riddick Bowe
Riddick Bowe

Riddick Lamont Bowe is an United States Boxing and former undisputed heavyweight champion. He is best remembered for his trilogy of fights with Evander Holyfield and two brutal bouts with Andrew Golota....
, but was knocked out in one round. He retired in 1997.

Honors

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

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.