Bobby Dykes Dies at 77

**amat** · 06-02-2006 01:41 AM

http://www.in-forum.com/ap/index.cfm...w&id=D8HVK5T80
MIAMI

Bobby Dykes, a boxer in the 1940s and 1950s who fought Kid Gavilan and Sugar Ray Robinson, died at 77.

He died Wednesday in his Coral Gables home, son-in-law Harry Roberts said. Dykes had Lou Gehrig's disease for about eight years, longtime companion Carolyn Carter said.

Dykes was born in San Antonio and moved to Miami in the late 1940s. He became the area's most popular fighter at a time when boxing was king in Miami.

"He remains the biggest drawing card in Miami boxing history," boxing historian Hank Kaplan said.

Dykes, a lanky white left-hander, earned a title fight against welterweight champion Kid Gavilan at Miami Stadium on Feb. 4, 1952. The bout was the first between a white and black boxer in then-segregated Miami, and the Cuban-born Gavilan won a split decision.

"I got a few death threats," Dykes told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in 2000. "That was when blacks went to the back of the bus. Two whites could fight and two blacks could fight, but not a black and a white. They told me, 'Bobby, you're giving up your heritage by fighting a black.' It was a big thing in those days."

Dykes and Gavilan met again three years later in a nontitle match, which Dykes won by unanimous decision. He fought Robinson in 1950 in Chicago, losing a split decision.

Dykes retired after a knockout victory over Gordon Pouliot in 1957. He finished his 11-year career with a record of 115-23-8, with 54 knockouts.

Other survivors include a son and three daughters.

**amat** · 06-02-2006 01:43 AM

Kind of wierd, I tried to d/l the Dykes/Robinson fight just a couple days ago but it failed. Either way, honorable thing for him to take the Gavilan fight and he retired with a fine record. R.I.P.