Bobby Dykes, a veteran of 146 boxing matches who took on Kid Gavilan in the first ever match between black and white fighters in Miami, died Wednesday in Coral Gables, Fla. He was 77.

Dykes, a native of San Antonio, moved to Miami in the late 1940s. He eventually became the area’s most popular fighter of the 1940s and 1950s, when boxing was king in Miami.

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

The lanky white southpaw finally earned a title fight against welterweight champion Kid Gavilan at Miami Stadium on February 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 before 11,526 fans.

“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.

Dykes also fought Sugar Ray Robinson in 1950 in Chicago, losing a split decision.

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