BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN MICHEAL MARSHALL DOKES A FORMER AMERICAN HEAVY WEIGHT BOXER NICKNAMED " DYNAMITE" BRIEFLY HELD THE WBA WORLD TITLE : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                       BLACK          SOCIAL        HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Michael Marshall Dokes  August 10, 1958 – August 11, 2012 was a former American boxer in the heavyweight division, nicknamed "Dynamite." He briefly held the WBA version of the world title in the early 1980s.

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. A rematch was ordered due to the controversial nature of referee Joey Curtis'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. 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.