Dale Cook

Dale Cook (born November 24, 1958; often billed as Dale "Apollo" Cook) is an American former kickboxer who competed in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. With a background in Boxing and Taekwondo, Cook debuted professionally in 1977 and spent the early part of his career as a full contact rules fighter. In the 1980s, he began fighting under Oriental and Muay Thai rules and took two world titles under the WKA banner. A short stint in shoot boxing towards the end of his career in the mid-1990s resulted in another world title in that discipline.

An occasional actor, Cook also starred in several action-oriented B-movies in the early 1990s.

Career Nicknamed Apollo, Dale Cook began practicing martial arts with taekwondo at the age of fifteen and eventually earned the rank of seventh degree black belt. After taking up kickboxing, he turned professional in 1977 and rose to prominence . Having fought exclusively under the full contact rule set in the beginning of his career, he later ventured into Oriental rules in the 1980s.

In 1983 Cook won the Professional Karate Association United States Welterweight title by defeating Randy Mack. In 1984 defended his title against Babe Gallegos winning by KO, and he beat Brad Rischer by KO. In 1985 Cook defeated Dwayne Wyatt by decision.

He won a world title on February 28, 1987, when he beat Pascal LePlat to claim the WKA world middleweight (-72.5 kg/159.8 lb) title. In 1988 Cook defended his Middleweight title against, former PKA and WKA Super Welterweight champion, David Humphries winning by decision. Following this, he added the WKA super middleweight (-76 kg/167.6 lb) strap to his mantle.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Cook challenged six Muay Thai stylists from Thailand, defeating five of them and losing once, a second-round KO at the hands of Changpuek Kiatsongrit on June 30, 1990, in Tokyo, Japan. On July 30, 1992, he fought Toshiyuki Atokawa at the Kakutogi Olympics II in Tokyo in a kickboxing/full contact karate hybrid match. Rounds one and three were fought with boxing gloves, and rounds two and four bare-knuckle with punching to the face disallowed. Cook won on points, and the pair rematched under Seido karate rules on October 4, 1992, in the opening round of the '92 Karate World Cup in Osaka, Japan. The first round was ruled a draw and went to an extension round after which Atokawa won on all five judges' scorecards.

He continued to fight in Japan where he won the shoot boxing world title before retiring in 1996.

After his retirement, Cook opened Apollo's Martial Arts karate and kickboxing gym in his hometown of Tulsa. Among his students are K-1 heavyweights Randy Blake, Todd Hays and Ralph White, as well as the Oklahoma Destroyers World Combat League team. Another notable student was 6 year old Kevin Morby. He also runs the Xtreme Fighting League, an Oklahoma-based promotion which features both kickboxing and mixed martial arts matches.

Championships and awards

Kickboxing Professional Karate Association PKA United States Welterweight Championship World Shoot Boxing Association WSBA World Championship World Kickboxing Association WKA World Middleweight (-72.5 kg/159.8 lb) Championship WKA World Super Middleweight (-76 kg/167.6 lb) Championship

Boxing record Boxing record 19 wins (10 KOs), 2 losses, 1 draw Date Result Opponent Venue Location Method Round Time Record 1987-08-14 Win Donald Tucker Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA KO 3 1:47 19-2-1 1986-09-09 Win Marcellus Jackson Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Decision 6 3:00 18-2-1 1986-06-17 Win Ed O'Ryan Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA TKO 3 17-2-1 1985-08-18 Win Carmelo Garcia Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Decision 8 3:00 16-2-1 1984-11-07 Draw Franklin Owens Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Draw 6 3:00 15-2-1 1984-06-18 Win Leroy Barnes Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA KO 3 15-2 1984-03-29 Win Henry Drummond Showboat Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Decision 4 3:00 14-2 1984-02-03 Loss Nathan Dryer Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Decision 6 3:00 13-2 1983-10-08 Loss Tony Harrison Oklahoma, USA Decision 10 3:00 13-1 1983-09-17 Win Joseph Humphrey Showboat Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada, USA KO 2 13-0 1983-06-12 Win Rocky Pidgeon Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA Decision 6 3:00 12-0 1983-03-12 Win Clyde Spencer Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Decision 4 3:00 11-0 1983-01-27 Win Mike Lair Hilton Inn West Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Decision (unanimous) 6 3:00 10-0 1982-11-21 Win Larry Smith Rock Palace Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA KO 3 9-0 1982-08-07 Win Clyde Spencer Little Dixie's Ballroom McAlester, Oklahoma, USA Decision 4 3:00 8-0 1982-06-15 Win Clyde Spencer Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA Decision 4 3:00 7-0 1982-02-07 Win Rocky Brown Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Decision 4 3:00 6-0 1981-11-11 Win Bobby Knight Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA KO 4 5-0 1981-07-17 Win Leslie Smith Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA KO 3 4-0 1981-04-10 Win William Curtis Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA KO 1 3-0 1981-02-22 Win William Curtis Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA KO 2 2-0 1981-01-15 Win Larry Smith Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA KO 3 1-0Legend:

Karate record Karate record Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time 1992-10-04 Loss Toshiyuki Atokawa '92 Karate World Cup, First Round Osaka, Japan Decision (unanimous) 2 2:00Legend:

Kickboxing record Kickboxing record 94 wins (54 KOs), 4 losses, 1 draw Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time 1996-00-00 Win Mark King Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Decision (unanimous) 5 3:00 1992-07-30 Win Toshiyuki Atokawa Kakutogi Olympics II Tokyo, Japan Decision 4 3:00 1990-06-30 Loss Changpuek Kiatsongrit AJKF: Inspiring Wars Heat 630 Tokyo, Japan KO (punches) 2 1:28 1990-00-00 Win Superman Osotsapa Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Decision 5 3:00 1989-00-00 Win M Penchandei Manchester, England Decision 5 3:00 1989-00-00 Win Harnsu Premchai Tokyo, Japan Decision 5 3:00 1989-00-00 Win Ismael Changani Tokyo, Japan KO 2 0000-00-00 Win Prasert Sitsoi Tokyo, Japan KO 3 0000-00-00 Win Sikki Taira 0000-00-00 Win Moon Do-Sang 0000-00-00 Win Song Ki-Padula 0000-00-00 Loss John Moncayo United States 0000-00-00 Win David Humphries Decision (unanimous) 10 2:00 1987-06-12 Win Donald Tucker KO 1 1987-02-28 Win Pascal Leplat Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA 0000-00-00 Win Dwyne Wyatt Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Decision (unanimous) 7 2:00 1984-11-00 Win Brad Rischer Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA KO (left hook) 1984-04-00 Win Babe Gallegos Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA KO (punches) 2 2:00 0000-00-00 Win Dan Magnus Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Decision (unanimous) 9 2:00 1983-05-00 Win Randy Mack 1981-00-00 Win Babe Gallegos Decision 0000-00-00 Win Gene McComb 0000-00-00 Win Ernie Hart, Jr. 0000-00-00 loss Billy Jackson 1980-00-00 Win Arthur O'Laughlin Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Decision (unanimous) 9 2:00 1979-03-07 Loss Steve Shepherd West Palm Beach, Florida, USA Decision 9 2:00Legend:

Filmography + Film Year Title Role Notes 1991 Fist of Glory Jake Reynolds Blood Ring Max Rivers 1992 Eternal Fist Amp Deadend Besiegers Gaijin who beats Wuwech Triple Impact Dave Masters Direct-to-video 1993 American Kickboxer 2 Mike Clark 1994 Double Blast Greg Direct-to-video 1995 Raw Target Johnny Rider Blood Ring 2 Max Rivers