Career
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. As an underage 15-year-old, made it to the finals of both the 1974 National Golden Gloves and the National Amateur Athletic Union tournaments.He lost to Leon Spinks in Amateur Athletic Union final, and future Tyson trainer Bobby Stewart in the Golden Gloves final.
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. He was ranked #2 by the WBC and #3 by the WBA. 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. Dokes was knocked out by Razor Ruddock in 1990.
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. 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.