Dwight Muhammad Qawi, from prison to champ to HOF, dies at 72
Known for action fights, he won light heavyweight, cruiserweight titles
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Dwight Muhammad Qawi, who took up boxing during a prison sentence for armed robbery, turned pro soon after his release and became a two-division world champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer, died on Friday. He was 72.
Qawi’s death, following a five-year battle with dementia, was announced by his sister, Wanda King.
“Dwight Muhammad Qawi’s relentless style made him a fan favorite and one of boxing’s most popular stars of the 1980s,” said Ed Brophy, the executive director of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. “The Hall of Fame offers our condolences to the Qawi family and joins the boxing world in mourning his passing.”
Known as “The Camden Buzzsaw,” Qawi (41-11-1, 25 KOs), a relentless pressure fighter, won the WBC light heavyweight title and WBA cruiserweight title during his 1978 to 1998 career.
Born Dwight Braxton on Jan. 5, 1953 in Baltimore, Qawi grew up in Camden, New Jersey, and legally changed his name in 1982 following a conversion to Islam.
He did not did not take up boxing until after he was sentenced in 1973 to Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, on an armed robbery conviction. Qawi joined the prison’s boxing program and took to the sport.
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Shortly after the stocky, 5-foot-7 Qawi was released in 1978 he turned professional at age 25 and trained at Joe Frazier’s gym in Philadelphia, where he gained valuable experience sparring with Bennie Briscoe and other pros.
He began his career 1-1-1, but in 1981 he stepped up his competition and defeated former WBA light heavyweight titlist Mike Rossman via seventh-round knockout and contender James Scott by decision in a bout that was held at Rahway State Prison, where Scott was incarcerated.
Coming off those victories, Qawi knocked out Hall of Famer Matthew Saad Muhammad in the 10th round to win the WBC 175-pound title on Dec.19, 1981 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Qawi made three successful defenses, including stopping Saad Muhammad in the sixth round of a rematch in August 1982 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.
In March 1983, Qawi met WBA champion and fellow Hall of Famer Michael Spinks for the undisputed title. Qawi was credited with a questionable eighth-round knockdown but lost a 15-round unanimous decision and soon moved up to the cruiserweight division.
In 1985, Qawi traveled to challenge WBA cruiserweight titlist Piet Crous on his turf in South Africa and stopped him in the 11th round to win a belt in a second division. Qawi won a nontitle bout and then defended his crown via sixth-round knockout of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks in March 1986.
In his next fight, in June 1986, Qawi defended against up-and-coming Evander Holyfield in Holyfield’s hometown of Atlanta on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.” It was a hellacious battle that many still regard as the greatest fight in division history. Holyfield won a 15-round split decision to claim the first world title of his Hall of Fame career.
They met in a rematch 17 months later and Holyfield knocked Qawi out in the fourth round. In his next fight, in March 1988, Qawi moved up to heavyweight to face the comebacking George Foreman and got stopped in the seventh round.
Over the next 10 years Qawi would fight 18 more times, going 13-5, including a split decision loss to Robert Daniels challenging for the WBA cruiserweight title in 1989.
Qawi retired at age 46 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, in 2004. During his retirement, he worked as a boxing trainer and drug and alcohol counselor.
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Photos: Getty Images and International Boxing Hall of Fame
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Dan, it's quite the niche. You are hands down the best boxing obituary writer of all time. You truly do the individuals and their careers justice. Obituaries are an unappreciated art and they really matter to family and friends. This follows your excellent write-up on Mike McCallum. Substitutes need not apply.
That’s sad. Grew up watching him. More than the first Holyfield fight, which I watched live on TV, I will never forget his two fights with Saad Muhammad. Legendary stuff. Great fighter. Camden and the Jerz stand up!