Evander Holyfield vs Michael Dokes in a 12-round fight for the WBC Continental Americas title
Date: March 11, 1989
Venue: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Holyfield stance: orthodox
Dokes stance: orthodox
Evander Holyfield was in the middle of an extremely successful boxing career when he challenged Michael Dokes for his WBC Continental Americas title. His time in the amateurs saw him win the national Golden Gloves, win silver at the 1983 Pan American Games and a bronze at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. After turning pro, he won the WBA cruiserweight title from Dwight Muhammad Qawi in one of the best cruiserweight title fights of all time. Holyfield went on to unify the cruiserweight titles, and win a rematch against Qawi in emphatic fashion, before turning his attention towards the heavyweights.
His goal was to challenge Mike Tyson, who was the undisputed and undefeated heavyweight champion at the time. Holyfield was considered one of the best prospects with a realistic chance of beating Tyson at the time. Holyfield's success in the cruiserweight division showed he had the temperament to win a world title, so the next step was to prove he could handle himself against elite level heavyweights. His first two fights in this divisions were against James Tillis and former WBC champion Pinklon Thomas. Tillis was a long way past his best. Thomas' previous fight had been against Tyson, and it soon became clear he had virtually nothing left after the beating he took in that fight.
Up next was former WBA champion Michael Dokes. There was no denying Dokes had good boxing skills, quick hands and respectable punching power. After some success as an amateur, culminating in a silver medal in the 1975 Pan American Games, Dokes turned pro in 1976. Just a year later, he shared a ring with Muhammad Ali in an exhibition. Dokes showed flashes of skill, but Ali also made him miss plenty of shots. He went on to beat a succession of journeymen and faded contenders before challenging Mike Weaver for the WBA title. Dokes caught Weaver cold in the first round to win the title, and drew with Weaver over 15 rounds in the rematch. He was then stopped by Gerrie Coetzee in his next defence.
Dokes stayed fairly busy over the next five years, winning 11 fights against an assortment of journeyman and fringe contenders. By the time he stepped into the ring against Holyfield, Michael Dokes was still only 30, and had just one loss on his record. For the first time, Holyfield was facing a heavyweight who was very close to his prime and had ambitions of his own. What followed was one of the best heavyweight contests of the 1980s.
For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:
Evander Holyfield - https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/499
Michael Dokes - https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/251
