Evander traveled to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 11, 1989 to take on the come-backing Michael Dokes. Dokes was an ex-champion who had retired in 1985 due to drug problems, but returned in 1987, and reeled off eight consecutive victories. He was now a ranked contender, and a match-up with Holyfield would leave the winner a promise at Mike Tyson’s belt.
The fight was another Showtime card, and I had to settle on newspaper clippings to hear about the fight. I had started a new job as a security job at a local mall, and had to settle on listening to the ABC radio broadcast on the radio in the truck I was driving on duty. The fight was being rebroadcast on ABC that Saturday afternoon in March, and it would be years before I saw the fight on videotape.
The fight itself was a brawl, with both men hurting each other throughout. Evander started to take control in the sixth, opening a cut over Michael’s eye. In the tenth, a series of hooks followed by a right hand, finished Dokes off. Dokes had fought courageously, and Evander proved again he was a real threat to Tyson’s crown.
The promised title shot by Don King was offered to Dokes despite any promises made by the scumbag promoter. When Dokes balked at the crappy money King offered him, he passed on the fight,and Tyson signed to fight Carl ‘The Truth’ Williams instead that July.
Evander went to Lake Tahoe, Nevada on July 15, 1989 and knocked out Adilson Rodrigues in two rounds. The collision course with Tyson was on track, and there was no doubt that the two would clash in the year 1990. In boxinghowever, anything can happen, and the world would soon fight that out.
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