No Seconds for Dokes as Bowe Wins : Boxing: The fight is stopped with 41 seconds remaining in the first round, much to the displeasure of the crowd.

Riddick Bowe, defending his two-thirds of the world heavyweight boxing championship for the first time, stopped Michael Dokes in the first round Saturday night to the jeers and boos of 16,332 at Madison Square Garden.

Dokes was staggered repeatedly by Bowe, and referee Joe Santarpia stopped it with 41 seconds left in the opening round.

Boos and catcalls came from many in the crowd. But as one ringsider put it: “What did they expect?”

It was the first heavyweight title fight at the Garden since 1986, but this wasn’t what New Yorkers had in mind.

Dokes, grossly overweight at 244 pounds, years past his prime at 35 and a challenger who quit serious training last Sunday, demonstrated all week in New York more eagerness for eating four-course meals than hard training.

There were more news accounts of Dokes with plates full of linguine and clams than of gym preparation.

Dokes hasn’t resembled a serious challenger since early 1989, when he went 10 rounds with then-contender Evander Holyfield.

Yet thousands poured into the Garden, where ticket prices ranged from $25 to $400. The live gate, $1,603,425, was the second richest for any event in the history of the Garden, behind only the second Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight, which did $1,653,000 in 1974.

Bowe earned $7 million, Dokes $750,000.

Bowe, because he defeated Holyfield last Nov. 13, wears the belts of the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Assn. The World Boxing Council stripped him of its title because he wouldn’t fight Lennox Lewis in his first defense. The WBC designated Lewis as its champion.

Bowe and his manager, Rock Newman, must look for another weak opponent, while HBO begins the hype buildup for an eventual Bowe-Lewis fight, expected late this year.

Newman and Bowe lost pigeon No. 1 Saturday night. Ray Mercer, expected to be a Bowe opponent in May or June, was upset on the undercard by Jesse Ferguson.

Bowe’s domination of Dokes was apparent seconds after the opening bell. Bowe landed seven consecutive left jabs before the challenger threw a decent punch.

Bowe (243 pounds) was in control after one minute on his jab alone. Dokes (244) scored in close only once, with a three-punch combination, but Bowe immediately retaliated with a long right hand that backed up Dokes.

A second long right sent Dokes into the ropes, which is supposed to call for a standing-eight count by the referee. But Santarpia didn’t give him one.

Bowe was then all over the wobbly Dokes and drove him into the challenger’s corner. There, Bowe missed several big punches, but he landed enough to render Dokes defenseless. The challenger had stopped throwing punches and was clearly in danger of being seriously hurt.

When Santarpia waved off Bowe with 41 seconds left in the round, Dokes staggered to center-ring to protest. So did Dokes’ manager, Sterling McPherson, who climbed into the ring in a rage.

Said Santarpia: “The ropes saved him. I looked into his eyes and he was gone. He was out. His eyes were glassy. He was falling all over the place. He must have gotten hit 20 straight times.

“My job is to prevent the fighters from getting seriously hurt, so I stopped it.”

Dokes, who briefly held the WBA’s version of the heavyweight title in 1982 and 1983, talked a better fight afterward than he had with his fists moments earlier.

“It was the worst officiating in my life,” said Dokes, speaking of Santarpia.

“He never asked me if I was hurt. He never asked me if I was in New York, Madison Square Garden, what round it was, was I black or white or anything.

“If I can’t continue for another 40 seconds, he deserves to win.

“I wasn’t hurt. There should be some investigation.”

Bowe said Santarpia’s call was correct.

“He should have stopped it sooner than he did,” the champion said. “If he hadn’t, we’d be going to a funeral sometime next week.

“I expected to knock him out. It was just a matter of when.”

On the undercard, Ferguson, 35, might have at least temporarily ended 1988 Olympic heavyweight champion Mercer’s tenure as a top contender. Ferguson won a unanimous 10-round decision over Mercer, 31, who seemed overweight at 238 pounds. Ferguson, who weighed 234, had lost four of his last five fights and is 19-9.

Ferguson had lost decisions to Tony Tubbs and Dokes in his previous two fights and lost to Bruce Seldon and Oliver McCall before stopping Mike Robinson.

Mercer’s only loss had been a defeat by decision a year ago to Larry Holmes. Saturday, judges had Ferguson winning, 99-91, 97-94 and 96-94. But some at ringside gave Ferguson all 10 rounds.

Also on the undercard, Wimpy Halstead of Oklahoma City lost to Alex Stewart of Brooklyn. Stewart (31-4) knocked down Halstead (77-11-1) three times during the seventh round and the bout was stopped.

Raul Marquez of Houston, the 1992 U.S. Olympic team light-middleweight, won his fifth in a row as a pro by stopping Tyrone Heyward of Washington during the first round.

* STILL UNBEATEN

Oscar De La Hoya wins with his fourth bout as a professional, stopping Curtis Strong on a technical knockout in the fourth round. C9