Former heavyweight champ
Michael Dokes has died of liver cancer at the age of 54. Dokes, nicknamed "Dynamite", won the WBA heavyweight title with a first round TKO of
Mike Weaver on Dec. 10, 1982. He retained the WBA belt when his rematch with Weaver ended in a draw, but lost the title in his next defense -- a tenth round KO loss to
Gerrie Coetzee on Sept. 23, 1983. Dokes, whose career was interrupted by multiple drug possession and trafficking convictions, later claimed to have used cocaine less than 48 hours before the Coetzee fight.
Dokes was a great amateur, compiling a record of 147-7, including victories over future heavyweight champ John Tate and Greg Page and a narrow loss to Cuban great Teófilo Stevenson at the 1975 Pan American Games.
Dokes ended his pro career - which began in 1976 and ended in 1997 - with a record of 53-6-2 (34 KOs). Dokes scored a pair of decision victories over Randall "Tex" Cobb and lost to Evander Holyfield, Donovan "Razor" Ruddock and Riddick Bowe. The Holyfield bout is a classic -- if you've never seen it, definitely check it out.
In 2000, Dokes was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder, second-degree kidnapping and intent to commit sexual assault against Sandra Kaye Cummings, his girlfriend of more than nine years. He was paroled in 2008.
Michael Dokes, Larger-Than-Life Heavyweight Boxer, Dies at 54 - Douglas Martin, NYTimes.com
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