Dwight Muhammad Qawi

2007-09-30T14:30:47Z

Spellfixer: /* Biography */

[[file:Braxton.Dwight.jpg|left|200px|Dwight Qawi]]
<boxer>000325</boxer>
'''Division:''' Heavyweight<br>
'''Manager:''' [[Wesley Mouzon]]

Also known as Dwight Braxton or Dwight Qawi

== Biography ==
With no amateur background Qawi left jail and turned professional at the advanced age of 25. He started quickly and fought men with much more experience and with flashy records very early in his career. He lost only once before his first title try at lightheavyweight, and that loss was avenged twice over. He dominated and ultimately KOed the fearsome Mathew Saad Muhammad for the WBC lightheavyweight title. Qawi gave Muhammad a rematch, as a champion should, and
KOed Mathew in the second round. After a few title defences Qawi fought Michael Spinks in a lightheavy title unification fight.

Both fighters were extremely talented and it was expected to be a good fight. The fight was a boring running exhibition put on by the taller, less physical Spinks. Qawi, being stronger and bulkier, could not catch Spinks enough. Qawi did manage to drop Spinks, but Spinks kept
his distance and was content to run and jab his way to a decision win, which he got. Qawi then moved to Cruiserweight and won another title, by KO again. He KO'd former Heavyweight Champion of the world Leon Spinks, Michael's brother, and then defended against Evander Holyfeild. Holyfield won a close 15 round decision in a battle between what is now considered the two best cruiserweight of all-time in the greatest cruiserweight fight of all-time.

Qawi returned to KO former IBF champ Lee Roy Murphy. He then outboxed Ossie Ocasio but was robbed of the decision. It hardly mattered as every one knew he had won the fight and Qawi was given a rematch with Evander Holyfield after that. Holyfield had found his championship form by then and was no longer the novice that Qawi fought the first time around. In another good fight Qawi was stopped in the fourth round. It was the first time Qawi had ever hit the canvas. And the first time he had ever been stopped.

In his next fight he took on the powerful George Foreman, Qawi managed to keep the fight close and won the early rounds with some powerful blows. But at 222 pounds Qawi was very overweight and out of shape, and as a result surrendered for the first and only time in his career in the seventh.

Qawi returned to the cruiserweight division with some impressive KO's and was given one more title shot, but now in his late 30s Qawi was slightly faded and lost a decision to Robert Daniels for the vacant IBF title that Evander Holyfield vacated when he moved up to heavyweight. Qawi then fought on but was never the same key player in the division that he once was. He lost to future cruiserweight champions Nate Miller and Arthur Williams, and some heavyweights before finally calling it quits in his late 40s.

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Matthew Saad Muhammad]]|
title=[[WBC Light Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Michael Spinks]]|
years=19 Dec 1981–18 Mar 1983
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Piet Crous]]|
title=[[WBA Cruiserweight Champion]]|
after=[[Evander Holyfield]]|
years=27 Jul 1985–12 Jul 1986
}}
{{end box}}
[[Category:World Cruiserweight Champions|Qawi, Dwight]]
[[Category:World Light Heavyweight Champions|Qawi, Dwight]]
[[Category:American World Champions|Qawi, Dwight Muhammad]]
[[Category:Muslim Boxers|Qawi, Dwight Muhammad]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members|Qawi, Dwight]]

BoxRec - User contributions [en]

Dwight Muhammad Qawi