Former WBA Heavyweight Champion Michael Dokes Dies At 54

staff
August 13, 2012 01:47 PM

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AKRON, Ohio — Michael Dokes, a former World Boxing Association heavyweight champion, has died. He was 54.

The Rhoden Memorial Home in Akron said Dokes died Saturday. The Akron Beacon Journal reported that the boxer died in an Akron hospice from liver cancer.

Known as “Dynamite” Dokes because he packed a powerful punch, the fighter won the WBA title in 1982 by defeating Michael Weaver. He lost the title a year later when he was beaten by Gerrie Coetzee.

Dokes had a career record of 53-6-2.

A run of legal problems began late in his career. In 1986, Dokes was arrested in Las Vegas for cocaine trafficking and served two years’ probation. In 2000, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to attempted murder, second-degree kidnapping and intent to commit sexual assault against his girlfriend. He was released in 2008.