He looked as a very special fighter when he was a teen. His famous exgibition vs Ali at 18 where he showed speed and skills. But it was no surprise if you study his amateur career. At 15 Dokes fought Leon Spinks who was already 21. At 16 and 17 he scored two wins over Trevor Berbick who was 20 and 21 respectively. At 17 he beat John Tate, 21. Also at 17 he lost to the legendary Teofilo Stevenson, 23, who was already a World amateur champion and Olympic Gold medalist. But Dokes lasted the distance against the ATG Cuban despite 6 year gap in age. That's a very impressive career considering he was fighting grown men who were 4-6 years older.
His 1st 'official' fight as amateur on boxrec is recorded when he was 13. So he has amateur fights recorded at the age 13-17. He probably started earlier and had numerous fights as a kid.
Dokes looked AMAZING as an amateur. Very fast hands, good power, good head movement. He was overconfident and fell apart sometimes when his opposition hung tough but if you saw him at his best youd think he was destined for greatness.
Dokes showed a ton of potential very early. Had he stayed on the right path in the pros he might have had immeasurable success
Interesting bit of trivia: In 1974 Michael Dokes, then only 15 years old, lost to 22 year old Bobby Stewart for the National Golden Gloves 178 pound championship. Five years later Stewart would discover 13 year old Mike Tyson at Tryon Juvenile Detention Center and eventually introduced him to Cus D’Amato.
