MICHAEL DOKES DEAD: THE REAL STORY!

August 13th, 2012 By Pedro Fernandez

2011 Photo Of Michael Dokes

DOKES WAS NEVER REALLY “DYNAMITE”

San Francisco, CA- Truth be told, when I met Michael Dokes circa 1980 he was one of the fastest “boxers” I had ever witnessed sparring at the late Johnny Tocco’s Ringside Gym on Main & Charleston Sts. in Las Vegas, NV. With blistering hand speed, and not so fast feet, Dokes was coming off a draw with Ossie Ocasio, a 190 lb. cruiserweight type whom he would whip via TKO 1. The problem with Dokes, at least from my perspective was that his punches were more flash than smash!

ALWAYS LOOKING TO SHED WEIGHT

What I did notice was that Dokes was wearing “plastic” and always seemed to be sweating off the pounds. As if Tocco’s gym, which at times was a sweatbox wasn’t hot enough, Michael Dokes was always shedding weight. When I watched him weigh in Johnny’s office, his time on the scale was about as quick as the late Arturo Gatti spent before fighting Joey Gamache. Simply put, Dokes wasn’t taking care of himself and he was only 22 or 23 years old.

TITLE WIN SMELLED LIKE SUN-DRIED COD FISH!

In 1982, Dokes captured the WBA heavyweight title in what looked like to the masses as a “fix” as referee Joey Curtis abruptly stopped his fight with Mike Weaver. His posing with Dokes for photographs at a Don King sponsored post fight victory party did little to change the minds of many that Curtis was in the pocket of King. The much clamored for rematch ended in a 15 round draw, another time in which a King fighter escaped with title in hand. Dokes lost the belt in his next fight when Gerrie Coetzee knocked him out in 1983.

DOKES & COKE WERE LIKE RUM & COKE!

When I would see Michael Dokes at various events, I always was of the opinion he was high, I thought it was weed as I had smelled that emanating from one of his fur coats one night. But Johnny Tocco, who ran his Las Vegas gym since transplanting from St. Louis in 1952 until just before his death in the late 1990s, told me Dokes would never make it. “He lacks discipline and likes Cocaine.” Tocco said he warned Dokes one time after witnessing the tail end of what appeared to be a dope deal in Tocco’s parking lot.

DOKES HAD BUT ONE GREAT FIGHT IN HIS LIFE!

In 1989, Dokes met the ascending in weight (ex-cruiserweight 190 lb. champ) Evander Holyfield. That turned out to be Dokes’ finest moment as a professional. The only problem for Dokes is that he was running on fumes and stopped in ten rounds in what was called the “best heavyweight fight of the decade” of the 80s. Five fights later “Razor” Ruddock punched him out in four frames.

“BIG DADDY” BOWE THRASHED DOKES

With his last chance at glory, Dokes was drilled in less than one round in 1993 by another fighter who lacked discipline in then heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe. Although he would take almost two years off and win three fights against guys like Dave “Dig ‘Em Up” Davis (8-21), Dokes would lose his last two fights to ham & egger types and retire for good in 1997.

WILL NOT FORGET ONE NIGHT & MICHAEL DOKES!

One night, a girlfriend and I were staying at the now razed hotel that was right across the street from the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, CA after a night of boxing. Dokes, in the lobby with the ageless wonder and boxing manager/advisor Marty Cohen, trailed my girl Lucy into the elevator and after she exited the elevator Dokes followed. Making verbal advancements, she ran to the room and got inside just ahead of Dokes and locked the door. When she never returned to the lobby, I went looking for her and found her in tears in the room.

LUCY WAS LUCKIER THAN DOKES’ GIRLFRIEND

Dokes Arrest Photo In 1999

Dokes was a sexual predator. You can do all you can in writing sweet eulogies about him, but the bottom line is Michael Dokes was a violent man. In 1999, Dokes beat on his girlfriend for almost 24 hours, leaving her so battered that not even the National Enguirer would publish pictures of her. Sentenced to up to 12 years in prison, Dokes got out in 2008.

CANCER DIAGNOSIS SHOWED END WAS NEAR

In 2011, I heard that Dokes’ health was failing with terminal cancer. Although he had paid his debt to society with nine years in the slammer, Dokes had assaulted other women in the 90s and was said to have dragged one person an entire city block with his Cadilac.

DOKES A PRIME EXAMPLE OF….

You can take a person out of the ghetto, but as was the case with Michael Dokes, you can’t take the ghetto out of the person! As a professional, Dokes went 53-6-2, 34 KOs. His death on August 11, 2012 was noted in many news circles. For the many writers that didn’t know him, they wrote glorifying stories. The bottom line was that Michael Dokes may have been cool to some, but in reality a creep to many more !

Pedro Fernandez

COMMENTS

  1. Good Article…Thanks for the update. The early eighties was a round robin for the Heavyweights. Dokes was in the mix.

    Mark on August 13th, 2012 at 8:58 PM

  2. Pedro, compelling insight into the dark world of Dokes. Having watched Dokes take Weaver’s title under questionable circumstances he seemed to be on a collision course with Larry Holmes, who at the time was coming off a big year in the sport. How do you feel such a match-up would have turned out, say in May 1983 (when Dokes was struggling with Weaver in the rematch and Holmes went to the brink with an inspired Tim Witherspoon)?

    Mike on August 13th, 2012 at 9:10 PM

  3. At that point in Larry’s career, I think Larry would of stopped him late, dont forget they were fighting 15 rounds then and Dokes got tired…Larry Holmes was and is an all-time great! He talked the the talk and walked the walk all the way to the bank.

    Mark on August 14th, 2012 at 12:33 AM

  4. Lot’s of fighters are not great citizens as they are made out to be these guys are warriors after all. Not saying that they should not have to uphold everyday law as everyone else but they do give a lot and this business takes a lot out of them physically, and mentally. All I am saying is Dokes was ok in my book he might of made some mistakes in life like a lot of us do but he still gave us some great moments inside those four corners especially in the 80′s. It would have been more appropriate to write an article bashing the guy while he was alive rather than wait until he passed away due to unfortunate circumstances. IMO not right to beat up on the deceased!! Michael Dokes was just another heavyweight whom might have had a lot of demonds to fight in his past. he had some good rounds and he had some bad rounds but he was still one of us a fighter! It is not for me to judge God will take care of it all in the end.

    Smitty on August 14th, 2012 at 4:09 PM

  5. When I hinted at this when he was alive I drew heat! No win situation.

    Pedro Fernandez on August 14th, 2012 at 7:19 PM

  6. Guy is a POS and should be verbally assaulted well after his death.

    blogger on August 14th, 2012 at 9:40 PM

  7. God Bless you Pedro. Thank for havin the courage for saying what had to be said about the overrated psycho loser Dokes…….

    PEACE

    SCR on August 15th, 2012 at 11:23 AM

  8. to the gentleman asking about holmes-dokes. that would have been a mismatch. holmes was always prepared and would have handled business. holmes would have either stopped him late or cruised to a one sided victory

    pharoah powell on August 15th, 2012 at 12:20 PM

  9. Wow, I never really knew what a pice of crap DOakes was outside the ring. New of his post-retirement life never travelled to Canada, and none of the old heavyweights around here ever talk about Doakes except for the fights with Holyfield & Ruddock.

    I knew he was a junkie like almost all of the heavies who came up in the 80′s. But I thought that he was onloy screwing himself, not being a menace to society. Figured there was a 50% chance he might be homeless or having some minor convictions for possesion, but nothing like this.

    Only thing I wonder is were the beating & raping tendencies there all along or did it perhaps follow from the combination of drugs & brain damage – he was totally DONE from that Holyfield fight and should never have been allowed to face Ruddock, let alone Bowe after that!

    Ten Count on August 15th, 2012 at 9:53 PM

  10. Once again Pedro breaks through the hype and sets forth the truth. The other thing about Dokes is that he would not shower for several days before a fight and would stink the place out at the weigh in. He did this to annoy his opponents. Ugh. They said he smelled like garlic.

    terrible ted on August 17th, 2012 at 5:55 AM

  11. i liked mike ……and i didnt like mercante jr not stopping the fight sooner vs ruddock at msg he was looking at a girl in the crowd …when mike took that 1st punch that kod him the rest when not nessesary at all !!!! glenn

    glenn leslie on August 17th, 2012 at 10:42 AM

  12. All you people who speak negative of MR DOKES ONE THING FOR SURE YOU WOULD NOT SAY THAT TO HIS FACE but surely will talk behind his back you are the real cowards cause if you said it to his face we know what would be the result a tko by the champ.

    jimmy on August 18th, 2012 at 5:31 PM

  13. I told him what I thought of him the very next time I saw him. So Jimmy, stuff it!

    Pedro Fernandez on August 18th, 2012 at 6:14 PM

  14. The hotel next to the Inglewood Forum is gone? I stayed in there a few times with friends who were fighting next door.
    Here is something that sticks in my memory. When I worked at Caesars Las Vegas I had a regular customer, the boxing referee, Joey Curtis. Joey was an ex club fighter from the fifties. From New York I believe or anyway the east coast. This guy is dead now and who is going to remember him? He worked the Dokes/Weaver fight with the suspiciously premature stoppage.
    That was the last big fight he ever worked. I used to massage this guy off the books. It was always on a busy day, the prick. I’d squeeze him in somehow. Twenty bucks in my pocket and he saved the thirty bucks, plus tip.

    Jesse on August 21st, 2012 at 10:54 PM

  15. I saw Dokes sparring at the GG gym in Vegas, on Oakey there. He was fat, out of shape, but he had very fast hands. Really fast. He was backed up on the ropes and he ripped off about six punches in three seconds or less. He was talented. Had a great amateur pedigree.

    Jesse on August 21st, 2012 at 10:56 PM

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