DYKES, BOBBY SIGNED PHOTO

Bobby Dykes was a boxer in the 1940s and '50s who fought Kid Gavilan and Sugar Ray Robinson. The lanky white left-hander from San Antonio earned a title fight against welterweight champion Kid Gavilan in 1952. The bout was the first between a white and a 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 non title match, which Dykes won by unanimous decision. He fought Robinson in 1950 in Chicago, losing a split decision. Dykes retired in 1957 with a record of 115-23-8, with 54 knockouts, then went on to a successful business career in South Florida. Dykes passed away in 2006 from Lou Gehrig's disease. Offered here is a photograph of Dykes in the ring with Sugar Ray Robinson which has been signed by Bobby Dykes.
This is a sepia tone photo. Bold, clear image. Clean, front and back. Signed in ink by Bobby Dykes. Not creased or torn. 8" x 10."