Stokes victorious after 19 year layoff

By Morrison Brandon at ringside
Photos: Scott Foster

Saturday night the ballroom at the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi became the battleground for Rite Hook Promotions Sweet Science VI. It featured the return of former titlist Donald Stokes (40-2-1) slated against late sub Tyrone Dowdy (4-41-0) in a cruiserweight match up. After a prolonged 19-year hiatus, “The Tiger” did not disappoint himself or the raucous packed house with a quick first round TKO.

The crowd was also entertained by the legend himself, Roy Jones Jr, who accompanied the entourage with Stokes as he entered the ring.

Not quite sure if it was the amped up crowd, his old friend Roy Jones, or the fact that he knew this may be his last chance to step into the squared circle, but Stokes was highly motivated from the 1st bell. If you blinked you might have missed it as Stokes came out all business, catching Dowdy in the opening moments with a clean left hand straight down the middle. Sensing Dowdy’s reaction to his power, Tiger’s eyes lit up and that was pretty much all she wrote. Stokes was able to display a full array of his offensive skills, knocking down his opponent four times before a resigned Dowdy remained slumped in a corner. Stokes was able to catch his adversary with power punches to the body, hooks and straight rights to the head, forcing the referee to wave it off literally seconds before the bell to end the first round sounded.

After the fight a very proud and excited Stokes stated, “I didn’t think it would go that well. I didn’t think I would knock him out in the first round, but I prepared for that and I did what I expected to do, and thank God for that.” When asked how it felt to finally perform in front of his two sons for the first time, Stokes admitted, “[This was] the first time they had never seen me fight before, but I said earlier this is what I trained to do. They were so proud of me, and I was so happy having them in the corner to see their dad be victorious.” After a great night of boxing everyone ringside would agree that “The Tiger” still had a bite after all those years.

There was also a ton of action in the undercard bouts leading up to the main event. One fighter in particular who stood out was 2012 Olympic Trials participant Steve Geffrard (15-2-0) in a light heavyweight bout. Geffrard displayed crisp punching, excellent footwork and heavy hands on his way to a TKO victory over William Johnson (11-51-2), who effectively said “No Mas” by retiring in his corner after a single frame. Asked about his future plans following his fight, Geffrard said, “We have been trying to get different fights but they have been getting turned down — or the card [didn’t] go through — so its just getting back in there even though it hasn’t been that long”. When asked about his next opponent, Geffrard replied, “I’m not sure, but hopefully we get a notable win. It’s always nice to get a win, but you want to get one that’s a lot more competitive.” With a flawless professional performance, Geffrard showed he is definitely someone to be taken seriously.

Undercard results:

Bobby Hill and William Johnson fought to a draw. (welterweight)

Randy Hedderick (1-5-0) and Brandon Davis [Pro debut] fought to a draw. (welterweight)

Mike Bissett (11-9-0) earned a decision over Lemarcus Tucker (4-1-0). (cruiserweight)

Javonn Barnes (7-0-0) earned a decision over Aaron Anderson (3-44-0). (welterweight)

Robert Alfonso (9-0-0) earned a decision over Willie Herring (14-13-3). (heavyweight)