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THE DETROIT NEWS

Dokes repels British invasion

Needing an impressive performance after scraping out a split decision over limited mauler Randall "Tex" Cobb less than three months ago, Michael Dokes delivered by destroying European heavyweight champion John L. Gardner in six rounds.

Criticized for being too cautious against Cobb, Dokes came out flat-footed and, after getting rocked by a left hook, floored the Brit with a savage left-right little more than a minute in.

Gardner rose on wobbly legs and warded off Dokes' onslaught for nearly a minute, but crashed again from a right uppercut just beyond the two-minute mark of the first. Gardner made it to his feet again and survived the rest of the round, even scoring a pair of body shots just before the bell.

Gardner rallied against an arm-weary Dokes in the second, building a big early lead behind a thumping hook to the body and a vicious right cross midway through the round. Dokes resumed with the power shots in the final minute, but Gardner took the round.

In the third, Gardner again controlled the first 90 seconds with a series of body shots, then staggered Dokes with a left hook. But the unbeaten prospect passed the test by landing a straight right that sent Gardner into the ropes, where he spent the rest of the round.

Dokes took control for good less than a minute into the fourth, flooring Gardner again with another left-right combo, but was unable to follow up.

The spent Gardner couldn't do much more in the fifth than stay on his feet and somehow convince referee Elmo Adolph that there was a good reason to let the one-sided beating continue, even though Dokes landed at will throughout.

Dokes continued pouring it on in the sixth, undeterred by a few decent shots Gardner managed early in the round. Adolph still refused to intervene, so Dokes took it out of the ref's hands with a head-spinning left hook. Gardner's efforts to make it to his feet failed, with Adolph tolling 10 at 2:51 of the sixth round.

Promoter Don King slithered through the ropes as Adolph waived his arms after completing the count, engulfing Dokes in a loving embrace.

"This young man showed the world tonight how a true heavyweight handles his business," King shouted to reporters trying to get to Dokes, who improved to 21-0-1, 11 KOs, for a post-fight interview. "He was lean and mean, powerful and tyrannical. If Greg Page were smarter, he'd make like Michael and get with the program."

King surprised some observers by even putting Page on the undercard, despite the Louisville native's refusal to abandon promoter Butch Lewis earlier this spring. Notably, though, King refused to allow Page's meeting with Alfredo Evangelista to air as part of the ABC telecast, instead insisting that the time before the main event be filled with a 15-minute Holmes-Spinks preview and a half-hour biography of the numbers kingpin-turned-promoter.

(In the real world, Dokes stopped Gardner in the fourth, an impressive showing that can be seen here.)