Dwight Muhammad Qawi, "the Camden Buzzsaw" words can't describe how much I love watching him fight. He was born Dwight Braxton, but changed his name to Dwight Muhammad Qawi when he converted to Islam. He was born in Baltimore, but moved to Camden New Jersey when he was young, and in Jersey he got into trouble on the streets, he was convicted of armed robbery and did 5 years in the infamous Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, the prison that was featured in the documentary "Scared Straight." While he was incarcerated at Rahway, he entered their boxing program, and this is where the legend of "the Camden Buzzsaw" was born. He has been likened to Joe Frazier, and for good reason, upon his release from prison he began training at Joe Frazier's Philadelphia gym, where he sparred against tough fighters, including one Bennie Briscoe. Qawi always reminded me of a sawed-off Joe Frazier, he fought out of a crouched position, and much like Frazier he was the pressure fighter from hell, he was like a small tank, always moving forward, you couldn't get rid of him, he was constantly coming towards you, throwing loads of leather at you. Also much like Frazier, he would be in the crouched position one second and the next he would just leap out of nowhere with a left hook or overhand right and strike like a snake. He was a small guy, 5'7", but he made the most of his lack of height and reach by utilizing the Bob and weave buzzsaw attack style taught to him by respected Philadelphia trainer Wesley Mouzon. Most of Qawi's opponents were taller than him and Qawi was able to take advantage of this by ducking under his taller opponents punches, a talent that emptied his opponents gas tanks as a fight went on into the deeper rounds. His approach resembled that of Joe Frazier, but Qawi was actually a counter puncher by nature, one that launched his counters from extremely short range. He was a brilliant infighter, he liked to use his jab to push his opponents into the ropes, the worst possible position to be in against an infighter, and then batter them with a brutalizing attack. Once Qawi was able to enter into the pocket and the infight, it was his world. While his opponent’s long arms could keep his bay at range theoretically, in the closer range they were a hindrance as Qawi’s hand speed made it almost impossible to parry or slip any of his strikes.
When Qawi was in the infight, he primarily stayed on his opponents left side, and used the shell guard to great effect. The shell allowed him to enact great offense off of outstanding defense as Qawi often let his opponent’s throw first, before punishing them with counters. Qawi had no hope of being competitive in bouts at range and thus built his tactics so that he would be able to dominate in the pocket and especially in the infight, in the trenches. He was a very complex fighter, he did things very methodically. His first fight with Evander Holyfield was epic, a brutal war of attrition, with neither fighter willing to surrender, that fight really put Holyfield on the map, going the distance with a guy like Qawi and taking a split decision was a big notch on his belt. Qawi also beat Matthew Saad Muhammad twice, Saad Muhammad was a legendary fighter known as "Miracle Matthew" because of his ability to pull victory from the jaws of defeat on many occasions. Qawi also went back to Rahway State Prison to fight James Scott, an inmate that was accused of murder and was doing a 30-40 year sentence for armed robbery, James Scott was a bizarre story, he was allowed to box from prison and fought actual top ranked fighters on national television from Rahway State Prison, I'll profile him later in the thread. But as for Dwight Muhammad Qawi, he was an intimidating fighter and often carried a mean streak in him to go along with his brutal style of fighting, he fought from the light heavyweight division all the way up to heavyweight, one of my all-time favorites.
Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs Evander Holyfield, this fight took place on July 12th, 1986, and is the greatest Cruiserweight fight in history, and one of the greatest fights in history period. Qawi came into this fight the older seasoned veteran, and Holyfield the younger inexperienced fighter who had never been past 8 rounds in a fight, not many people thought Holyfield could last 15 rounds with the brutal Qawi. This fight put Evander Holyfield on the map.
Qawi vs Holyfield - A Cruiserweight inferno
At the opening bell, the differences between the two were made even more stark: The tall, angular challenger with the 29-inch waist seeking to fully exploit his six-inch reach advantage and the 20-foot-square ring as the thickly-built champion with the 36-inch waist pursued behind a shell defense and sought to land overhand rights. The feeling-out period lasted less than a minute as Holyfield connected with glancing rights following double jabs while Qawi patiently rolled his upper body, picked off jabs with his gloves, fired singular rights to the head and body and waited for Holyfield to expend his nervous energy. As the round progressed, Holyfield asserted his superior hand and foot speed by firing combinations but Qawi’s counter right to the jaw reminded the challenger that he was in with a highly seasoned — and highly intelligent — competitor.
Qawi began the second by connecting with a strong right to the jaw, and, tellingly, Holyfield absorbed it unflinchingly and continued to fire long-armed spears at the champion. Tellingly, Qawi had already reduced the distance between them by half — exactly the range he needed in order to impose his strengths. Qawi connected with a snappy left hook-right uppercut to the jaw and he smartly maneuvered Holyfield toward the ropes time and time again. Even better for Qawi: The pace was quickening, which brought in the possibility of Holyfield burning out in the “championship rounds” of 11 through 15 — if it even got that far. The intensity increased with every passing second, and the pair even continued to fight after the second-round bell sounded — a bell that could barely be heard above the throng.
Holyfield gunned for an early ending at the start of Round 3 but Qawi coolly slipped under most of the artillery and, after briefly resetting, resumed his determined pursuit. Many of his body punches strayed low of the target, an infraction that drew several cautions from referee Vinny Rainone, but his bombs over the top were precise and seemingly more powerful, at least at the moment. Still, Holyfield was more willing to engage in trench warfare with Qawi; perhaps he sensed that his work with Hallmark was paying off or maybe that was just Holyfield’s combative temperament coming out. The main difference between the two at this point was the intensity of work rate; Holyfield was always in motion, either with his hands or with his feet, while Qawi fought in spurts.
Had this been a three-round amateur fight, Holyfield would have won going away. But now Holyfield had to complete the equivalent of four more back-to-back bouts in searing heat and against a tank-like opponent armed with savvy, toughness and grit.
The fourth opened with Holyfield showing the first signs of concession to the 15-round distance as he retreated toward the ropes and allowed Qawi to pound away at close range for nearly a full minute. With Duva yelling “turn him, turn him,” Holyfield spun away toward ring center and peppered Qawi with light but scoring punches. The intensity of those punches increased as the round continued, but, in the long-term, Qawi was getting the trench war he craved. A heavy right buckled Holyfield’s legs for the first time in the fight, but the challenger produced the perfect response by immediately snapping back with his own power shots. The already-robust action escalated to the point where ABC’s blow-by-blow man Al Trautwig declared that there was no way this fight would go 15 rounds.
Holyfield began the fifth on his toes in an effort to slow the fight down to a more comfortable level, and Qawi, sensing weakness in his opponent, turned the screws psychologically by taunting and making faces. Analyst Alex Wallau said Holyfield lacked the strength at this point to keep Qawi away or to earn his respect, and that the solution was to set his feet and drill the champion with power punches while also pivoting away from Qawi’s right hand. The fifth was Qawi’s best thus far, and, worse yet for Holyfield, his body — and his mind — was starting to rebel.
“It’s the sixth round and my back is starting to hurt,” he told Ryan. “I feel myself draining because Qawi has been coming on from the fourth round. He’s been really putting on the pressure and trying to take me out. It feels like war. Now I’m asking myself, ‘what are you doing in here?’ It’s then that you start looking for a reason to quit. I told myself ‘uh uh. You can’t quit. You have to go on.’ In the seventh round, my back hurt even worse. And Qawi kept the pressure on more and more. I just kept refusing to quit, because all my life I worked to be in this position. I said to myself, ‘what are you gonna do, fold?’ Then thoughts come to your mind, where you say, ‘well, I’m young. It won’t hurt me if I do lose this one.’ But the other side of you says, ‘no, you’re not a loser.’ In the eighth round it got even tougher, but from the ninth round on I caught my second wind. I started feeling better. I felt sharp when the bell rang for the ninth.”
The pace during Qawi-Holyfield 1 was unrelenting. Photo by Ring Magazine/ Getty Images
In retrospect, rounds six through eight of the first Qawi fight were the most important nine minutes of Evander Holyfield’s boxing life because the successful resolution of his war between the ears served to form the foundation that would animate the remainder of his career. Had he decided to submit, he would have had to live with the consequences for the rest of his life; it would have been his first professional loss, he would have lost untold tens of millions of potential future income and he likely would have been relegated to obscurity. But because he didn’t submit, he proved to himself that he had a champion’s drive when it absolutely counted the most. Under the most intense pressure imaginable — and with his body still losing fluids at a dangerous pace — Holyfield allowed the mental to override the physical, resulting in a performance of a lifetime.
But Qawi, proud champion that he was, was the one who forced Holyfield to question himself. In Round 6, Qawi ducked, dodged and weaved away from 17 consecutive punches, after which he drove in a dagger firing a more accurate 11-punch flurry, backing away, and flashing a smiling shrug. Even so, the difference in consistency and marksmanship kept Holyfield in the equation –and because clean punching is a major part of scoring fights, “The Real Deal” kept himself from being mathematically buried.
As the rounds ticked by, one could see Holyfield digging into his deepest recesses in the face of Qawi’s relentlessness while the champion sought opportunities to pounce while also doing his best to fend off the challenger’s flying fists. The styles meshed magnificently, and both men were investing full power and passion into each punch in the hopes of breaking the other. Neither succeeded, and as a result the fight went much longer than anyone had a right to believe.
The ninth saw Holyfield finally find that perfect distance in which he could land with maximum effectiveness while also limiting Qawi’s opportunities to strike. He landed his jab consistently, showed his strength by pushing Qawi away, and fired short right uppercuts and hooks without taking undue punishment in return. Holyfield stretched his advantage at the start of the 10th as his legs showed renewed life and his blows were delivered with extra speed and power. The second wind for which he had been waiting had finally arrived, and with the finish line inching closer and closer the mixture of euphoria and relief had to be palpable. But Holyfield wasn’t operating inside a vacuum; Qawi was still Qawi and he remained a never-ending threat because of his iron will, his steely chin, and his thirst for success.
Their shared goals but opposed paths continued to clash throughout the championship rounds. Having been in unknown territory since Round 9, Holyfield continued to examine the limits of his reserves by starting strongly in the opening minute only to throttle down later while Qawi, knowing he had to be behind on the scorecards in his opponents hometown, marched forward and seized upon any openings his wizened eyes perceived. The thousands that filled the Omni sought to boost the challenger’s energy by chanting “Holy! Holy! Holy!” but the object of their affection remained focused on living in the moment and taking care of his business.
Astonishingly, Holyfield appeared to be the fresher man during the final five rounds; an emphatic right uppercut-left hook-right cross-left hook snapped Qawi’s head late in the 13th and his improbable work rate in the 14th graphically showed just how weary the champion had become. The final round saw both men empty their chambers but Holyfield showed he had more bullets in his than Qawi did, and that, more than anything, proved to be the difference.
Fifteen seconds before the final bell, Qawi attempted one last veteran move. Shortly after taking a short right to the temple he stopped and took a couple of stuttering steps backward as if his brain had gone suddenly fuzzy. But it was all a ruse, for Qawi leapt out of his crouch and winged a desperate overhand right and hook that missed the target. Holyfield had passed one final test, and now it was up to the judges to determine whether he had earned his diploma.
Judge Gordon Volkman, a Wisconsin native, said no, as he had Qawi ahead 143-141. Neffie Quintana of New Mexico issued an overwhelming “yes” as he turned in a 147-138 scorecard in which he gave Holyfield nine of the final 10 rounds. Hall of Fame judge Harold Lederman cast the deciding vote, and, as was often the case, his score matched conventional wisdom: 144-140 for the winner…and new champion, Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield. For the record, Lederman gave Holyfield seven of the last 10 rounds.
It is a cliche for athletes to declare they were willing to invest their very last drop in the name of victory, but in Holyfield’s case it was the literal truth. Holyfield revealed he has lost 15 pounds during the fight and the back pain he was experiencing wasn’t just muscular but also renal; his kidneys were failing.
“I was going to go to a party after the fight, but when I went to the room to shower, I kind of stiffened up and felt nauseous and got a headache,” Holyfield told Ryan. “I called my doctor and he said we needed to get over to the hospital. He said I lost so much water that I started burning muscle. That can cause kidney failure. They put me on the IV and put nine containers in me.”
According to an October 1990 story penned by the Los Angeles Times’ Earl Gutskey, Holyfield came perilously close to permanent damage.
“First, his wife (Paulette) didn’t delay in calling for help,” said Holyfield’s doctor Ron Stephens. “Second, I lived just a mile or so away, and we were able to get a (kidney specialist) at the hospital, who was waiting for us when we arrived. We right away diagnosed him as being in severe dehydration. He was unable to urinate. We put a catheter in him and there was no urine in his bladder. We put on intravenous fluids and put 12 liters of fluid into him before he could produce a drop of urine. He was maybe a few hours away from striated muscle breakdown, and if those byproducts had clogged up his kidneys, his boxing career not only might have been over, he could have wound up on a kidney machine the rest of his life. He’s lucky his wife called when she did.”
Indeed. Holyfield stopped Qawi in four rounds in their December 1987 rematch en route to becoming an undisputed champion at cruiserweight. He then went on to become the only heavyweight in history to produce four separate championship tenures, and in a 26-year-career that ended in 2011 he produced a record of 44-10-2 (29) while also earning a plaque in Canastota as part of the IBHOF’s Class of 2017.
As for Qawi, he alternated between heavyweight and cruiserweight, with his final title opportunity coming in November 1989 against Robert Daniels for the vacant WBA belt. The 34-year-old lost by split decision, and while he ended his career with an eight-round points loss to Tony LaRosa in November 1998 while scaling a career-high 232, it was just his third loss in his last 12 fights and he ended his career at age 45 with a record eerily similar to Holyfield’s: 41-11-1 (25). By retiring 12 1/2 years before Holyfield’s final fight, he beat “The Real Deal” into the Hall of Fame by 13 years as he was inducted into the Class of 2004.
Evander Holyfield ended up in the hospital after the Qawi fight, hooked up to an IV, he actually thought about quitting the sport after that fight, that's how brutal it was.
Qawi had some great fights, he beat Matthew Saad Muhammad twice, stopped him both times, which was no easy feat. Saad Muhammad was a legend, known for being able to turn the tide of a fight he looked to be losing badly, they called him "Miracle Matthew" or "Miracle man."
For Qawi to be able to stop Matthew Saad Muhammad just shows you how brutal a man Qawi could be. Qawi was still known as Dwight Braxton when he fought Saad Muhammad, he had not yet changed his name to Qawi.
One of Qawi's most famous fights was in 1981, when he returned to Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, a place he had done 5 years for armed robbery. He returned their to fight James Scott, an inmate accused of murder that was doing a 30-40 year sentence for armed robbery, I'll talk a bit about that tomorrow.
Picking up where I left off, in 1981 Dwight Muhammad Qawi went back to Rahway State Prison to fight James Scott. At the time, Qawi was still known as Dwight Braxton, he had not yet changed his name to Qawi. Anyway, Qawi went back to Rahway, a place he had himself done 5 years for armed robbery, to fight James Scott. As a matter of fact, Qawi and Scott already knew each other, they had both been in the boxing prison program together when Qawi was there, and Scott had actually tutored Qawi. The thing is, Qawi was released on parole and he made something out of his life, while James Scott never took responsibility for the crimes that landed him at Rahway in the first place, in particular the murder of a young man named Everett Russ. One night in 1975, a female drug dealer was robbed in New Jersey, and a young man named Everett Russ was found shot to death, he had been shot four times inside the back seat of a car and thrown out into the street. As it so happens, a witness had taken down the license plate of the car Everett Russ was killed in, that car was then traced back to the owner, the owner turned out to be James Scott. Here is the story.
James Scott in his cell at Rahway State Prison in New Jersey
On May 8, 1975, James Scott, then an undefeated, and promising light heavyweight contender with a possible title shot on the horizon, heard that police in Newark wanted to talk to him, something to do with his car. Scott didn't bother to contact an attorney. "I thought," he later told Esquire's Phil Berger, "that I was a celebrity and there'd be no problem. I hadn't did anything wrong. What I need a lawyer for? I figured to take my car down there, answer some questions and come back home ... I had it made, a title shot for $100,000. My dream had come true. A press conference was set up for a Thursday and we were going to announce the fight." Scott drove from Trenton over to the Newark police headquarters and, by his account, calmly walked right in and answered their questions.
Scott's car had been seen in the vicinity of a murder and robbery. When the Newark police checked the car, they found bloodstains and a bullet hole. Scott insisted he had loaned the car to a friend. He was arrested the next day.
According to Berger's account for Esquire, the Essex County prosecutor's version of the night in question went like this:
Toward midnight on May 7, 1975, Everitt (sic) Russ was standing out front of a bar on Howard Street in Newark with a friend when he was approached by James O. Scott. Russ climbed into a blue four-door sedan with Scott and others. The car proceeded to the Lincoln projects in Newark, where Russ led them to the apartment of Leo Skinner. The way Russ told it, Skinner would be able to buy drugs for them in a building next door.
In that adjoining building, the men held the elevator for Yvonne Barrett, who lived up on the tenth floor with her sister Antoinette. The Barrett apartment, as it happened, was where the group was headed. Reluctant to take so many people there, Leo Skinner stopped the elevator on the eighth floor. At that point, one of Scott's companions, William Spinks, pulled out a pistol and ordered the project residents, Skinner and Barrett, out. Scott exited too. Everitt (sic) Russ rode to the lobby and waited in the sedan with the other man in Scott's party. Back on the eighth floor, Spinks handed the weapon to Scott, who pistol-whipped Skinner and ordered him to disrobe. Later, Spinks, holding the gun on Yvonne Barrett, robbed her sister's tenth floor apartment of $283 and glassine bags with white powder in them. At about 1:30 that morning, the body of Everitt (sic) Russ was pushed from a blue four-door sedan, dead from gunshot wounds.
As Russ's corpse smacked the pavement and the blue sedan screeched off, a passing motorist took down the license plate. The plate number was reported to the police and the car the license plate was attached to led to Scott.
Scott claimed he lent his car to Spinks and had nothing to do with the crimes, alleging a conspiracy involving the Newark police. He said Spinks' accomplice in the crime was someone from Newark named "Black Jack," whom Scott conceded resembled him a great deal in appearance.
William Spinks (unrelated to boxing brothers Leon and Michael) never had the chance to offer his own version of the events that day. One month after the crime, another stick-up claimed his life before police could locate, let alone question, him about the surrounding events that led to Russ' murder.
Leo Skinner offered to clarify the confusion regarding Black Jack and Scott. From Berger's Esquire article:
Questioned in court by the Essex County prosecutor, Skinner conceded that Black Jack and Scott, in his phrase, "could go for brothers" — they looked that much alike. But Skinner claimed there were differences, that Black Jack was smaller, his hairstyle slightly different. Then:
Q: Did Black Jack beat you up on the night of May 8, 1975?
A: (Skinner) No sir.
Q: Did Black Jack stick a gun in your mouth on May 8, 1975?
A: No sir.
Q: Did Black Jack make you strip off all your clothes on May 8, 1975?
A: No sir.
Q: Did Black Jack threaten to throw you off the roof on May 8, 1975?
A: No sir.
Q: Who did all those things to you on May 8, 1975?
A: Scott.
Nearly seven months later, a New Jersey Superior court jury deliberated 20 hours and convicted Scott of robbery, but split, 11-1, on the murder charge. Although The New York Times reported, "There was no indication whether the majority favored conviction or acquittal," the testimony of eyewitnesses left little doubt. Even though he beat the murder rap, as a multiple offender, Judge Ralph L. Fusco sentenced him to a 30-40-year prison term.
Later on, James Scott was retried for the murder of Everett Russ and found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, he was released in 2005 after serving only 28 years. But getting back to the story, in the late 70s and early 80s, James Scott found fame as a boxer in Rahway State Prison, he became a sort of sideshow attraction when he managed to have his fights televised on national television from the prison. The warden of Rahway State Prison at the time supported James Scott and allowed this to happen. It's a crazy story, James Brown actually came to the prison and sung the national anthem before one of the fights, Marv Albert sat ringside and broadcasted the fights for the television audience, and Sugar Ray Leonard and Ken Norton were guest broadcasters with Marv Albert. Seven fights total were broadcasted live from Rahway State Prison in NBC. It was really freaking weird hearing Marv Albert say, "And the challenger James Scott, an inmate here at Rahway State Prison, he is serving a life sentence for murder and 30-40 year sentence for armed robbery."
James Scott at Rahway State Prison
Now, Scott was a damn good fighter, tough as nails, and he managed to lure top ranked, world class fighters to the prison to fight him, and he beat most of them. He laid a pretty good beating on Eddie Gregory, he beat Richie Kates, and a few others, world class fighters, it was crazy. If James Scott wasn't such a horrible person, he would have had a great career outside the ring, he could fight. Scott was actually ranked at one time with the WBA, he was the second ranked contender in the WBA light heavyweight division, but the WBA would not give him a title shot, they didn't want to risk Scott winning the title, that would have been a disaster, the WBA champion a prisoner at Rahway? Can you imagine? Every contender that wanted a title shot would have to go to Rahway State Prison and fight Scott, the WBA said no to that. It wasn't long before Scott's story took a sharp turn downhill. James Scott looked damn near unbeatable in most of his fights at Rahway, very dominant, but in 1980, Jerry "the bull" Martin went to Rahway State Prison to fight James Scott, and Martin wasn't intimidated by Scott or the prison atmosphere. In the first round, Martin floored Scott with a vicious overhand right, Scott got up but he was hurt and on shaky legs for the rest of the round. Late in the second round, Martin floored Scott again, and Scott got up and recovered, but this was not the dominant Scott everyone was used to seeing, and Martin won by decision. This brings us to 1981, Dwight Muhammad Qawi goes to Rahway, this would be the end of the rodeo for James Scott. Very uneventful fight, Scott spent most of the fight staying the hell away from the stalking Qawi, when Qawi did close the distance he won most of the exchanges. Qawi racked up a lot of points using his left jab, it was about all he could do because Scott just stayed on his bicycle most of the fight, and Qawi rightfully won by decision.
Anyway, that concludes my profile on Dwight Muhammad Qawi, aka Dwight Braxton, really loved watching him fight, one of my all-time favorites. I wish there were more fighters like him today.
Laszlo Papp, middleweight, he's one of the only boxers to retire undefeated. He was also the first boxer to win three straight Gold medals in the Olympics, having won Gold in London in 1948, Helsinki in 1952, and in Melbourne in 1956. He is a legend in this sport, one of the biggest "what if's" of all-time. He didn't turn pro until he was 31, but during his short pro career, he never tasted defeat, going 27-0-2. He was on the verge of a world middleweight title shot against the legendary middleweight champion Joey Giardello, but just like that, boom, his country, communist Hungary, put a permanent stop to his career, his career was over forever. You see, Hungary was a communist country, and they had socialist policies and they didn't believe in fighting for money, so they stripped him of his passport and ended his career, damn shame, because he's one of the greatest middleweights I've ever seen. He was a hard punching southpaw with great movement and a searing left hook, I have no doubt he would have been a world champion, but despite everything, he made it to the hall of fame, and deservedly so.
Below are some great photos of the legendary Laszlo Papp. He had brittle hands and suffered injuries from them, but despite that, he still had serious knockout power and was never unbeaten, he was clever as hell in the ring.
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Henry Cooper's training was intense.
Henry Cooper strengthening his neck.
The legendary Henry Cooper.
Dwight Muhammad Qawi, "the Camden Buzzsaw" words can't describe how much I love watching him fight. He was born Dwight Braxton, but changed his name to Dwight Muhammad Qawi when he converted to Islam. He was born in Baltimore, but moved to Camden New Jersey when he was young, and in Jersey he got into trouble on the streets, he was convicted of armed robbery and did 5 years in the infamous Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, the prison that was featured in the documentary "Scared Straight." While he was incarcerated at Rahway, he entered their boxing program, and this is where the legend of "the Camden Buzzsaw" was born. He has been likened to Joe Frazier, and for good reason, upon his release from prison he began training at Joe Frazier's Philadelphia gym, where he sparred against tough fighters, including one Bennie Briscoe. Qawi always reminded me of a sawed-off Joe Frazier, he fought out of a crouched position, and much like Frazier he was the pressure fighter from hell, he was like a small tank, always moving forward, you couldn't get rid of him, he was constantly coming towards you, throwing loads of leather at you. Also much like Frazier, he would be in the crouched position one second and the next he would just leap out of nowhere with a left hook or overhand right and strike like a snake. He was a small guy, 5'7", but he made the most of his lack of height and reach by utilizing the Bob and weave buzzsaw attack style taught to him by respected Philadelphia trainer Wesley Mouzon. Most of Qawi's opponents were taller than him and Qawi was able to take advantage of this by ducking under his taller opponents punches, a talent that emptied his opponents gas tanks as a fight went on into the deeper rounds. His approach resembled that of Joe Frazier, but Qawi was actually a counter puncher by nature, one that launched his counters from extremely short range. He was a brilliant infighter, he liked to use his jab to push his opponents into the ropes, the worst possible position to be in against an infighter, and then batter them with a brutalizing attack. Once Qawi was able to enter into the pocket and the infight, it was his world. While his opponent’s long arms could keep his bay at range theoretically, in the closer range they were a hindrance as Qawi’s hand speed made it almost impossible to parry or slip any of his strikes.
When Qawi was in the infight, he primarily stayed on his opponents left side, and used the shell guard to great effect. The shell allowed him to enact great offense off of outstanding defense as Qawi often let his opponent’s throw first, before punishing them with counters. Qawi had no hope of being competitive in bouts at range and thus built his tactics so that he would be able to dominate in the pocket and especially in the infight, in the trenches. He was a very complex fighter, he did things very methodically. His first fight with Evander Holyfield was epic, a brutal war of attrition, with neither fighter willing to surrender, that fight really put Holyfield on the map, going the distance with a guy like Qawi and taking a split decision was a big notch on his belt. Qawi also beat Matthew Saad Muhammad twice, Saad Muhammad was a legendary fighter known as "Miracle Matthew" because of his ability to pull victory from the jaws of defeat on many occasions. Qawi also went back to Rahway State Prison to fight James Scott, an inmate that was accused of murder and was doing a 30-40 year sentence for armed robbery, James Scott was a bizarre story, he was allowed to box from prison and fought actual top ranked fighters on national television from Rahway State Prison, I'll profile him later in the thread. But as for Dwight Muhammad Qawi, he was an intimidating fighter and often carried a mean streak in him to go along with his brutal style of fighting, he fought from the light heavyweight division all the way up to heavyweight, one of my all-time favorites.
Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs Evander Holyfield, this fight took place on July 12th, 1986, and is the greatest Cruiserweight fight in history, and one of the greatest fights in history period. Qawi came into this fight the older seasoned veteran, and Holyfield the younger inexperienced fighter who had never been past 8 rounds in a fight, not many people thought Holyfield could last 15 rounds with the brutal Qawi. This fight put Evander Holyfield on the map.
Qawi vs Holyfield - A Cruiserweight inferno
At the opening bell, the differences between the two were made even more stark: The tall, angular challenger with the 29-inch waist seeking to fully exploit his six-inch reach advantage and the 20-foot-square ring as the thickly-built champion with the 36-inch waist pursued behind a shell defense and sought to land overhand rights. The feeling-out period lasted less than a minute as Holyfield connected with glancing rights following double jabs while Qawi patiently rolled his upper body, picked off jabs with his gloves, fired singular rights to the head and body and waited for Holyfield to expend his nervous energy. As the round progressed, Holyfield asserted his superior hand and foot speed by firing combinations but Qawi’s counter right to the jaw reminded the challenger that he was in with a highly seasoned — and highly intelligent — competitor.
Qawi began the second by connecting with a strong right to the jaw, and, tellingly, Holyfield absorbed it unflinchingly and continued to fire long-armed spears at the champion. Tellingly, Qawi had already reduced the distance between them by half — exactly the range he needed in order to impose his strengths. Qawi connected with a snappy left hook-right uppercut to the jaw and he smartly maneuvered Holyfield toward the ropes time and time again. Even better for Qawi: The pace was quickening, which brought in the possibility of Holyfield burning out in the “championship rounds” of 11 through 15 — if it even got that far. The intensity increased with every passing second, and the pair even continued to fight after the second-round bell sounded — a bell that could barely be heard above the throng.
Holyfield gunned for an early ending at the start of Round 3 but Qawi coolly slipped under most of the artillery and, after briefly resetting, resumed his determined pursuit. Many of his body punches strayed low of the target, an infraction that drew several cautions from referee Vinny Rainone, but his bombs over the top were precise and seemingly more powerful, at least at the moment. Still, Holyfield was more willing to engage in trench warfare with Qawi; perhaps he sensed that his work with Hallmark was paying off or maybe that was just Holyfield’s combative temperament coming out. The main difference between the two at this point was the intensity of work rate; Holyfield was always in motion, either with his hands or with his feet, while Qawi fought in spurts.
Had this been a three-round amateur fight, Holyfield would have won going away. But now Holyfield had to complete the equivalent of four more back-to-back bouts in searing heat and against a tank-like opponent armed with savvy, toughness and grit.
The fourth opened with Holyfield showing the first signs of concession to the 15-round distance as he retreated toward the ropes and allowed Qawi to pound away at close range for nearly a full minute. With Duva yelling “turn him, turn him,” Holyfield spun away toward ring center and peppered Qawi with light but scoring punches. The intensity of those punches increased as the round continued, but, in the long-term, Qawi was getting the trench war he craved. A heavy right buckled Holyfield’s legs for the first time in the fight, but the challenger produced the perfect response by immediately snapping back with his own power shots. The already-robust action escalated to the point where ABC’s blow-by-blow man Al Trautwig declared that there was no way this fight would go 15 rounds.
Holyfield began the fifth on his toes in an effort to slow the fight down to a more comfortable level, and Qawi, sensing weakness in his opponent, turned the screws psychologically by taunting and making faces. Analyst Alex Wallau said Holyfield lacked the strength at this point to keep Qawi away or to earn his respect, and that the solution was to set his feet and drill the champion with power punches while also pivoting away from Qawi’s right hand. The fifth was Qawi’s best thus far, and, worse yet for Holyfield, his body — and his mind — was starting to rebel.
“It’s the sixth round and my back is starting to hurt,” he told Ryan. “I feel myself draining because Qawi has been coming on from the fourth round. He’s been really putting on the pressure and trying to take me out. It feels like war. Now I’m asking myself, ‘what are you doing in here?’ It’s then that you start looking for a reason to quit. I told myself ‘uh uh. You can’t quit. You have to go on.’ In the seventh round, my back hurt even worse. And Qawi kept the pressure on more and more. I just kept refusing to quit, because all my life I worked to be in this position. I said to myself, ‘what are you gonna do, fold?’ Then thoughts come to your mind, where you say, ‘well, I’m young. It won’t hurt me if I do lose this one.’ But the other side of you says, ‘no, you’re not a loser.’ In the eighth round it got even tougher, but from the ninth round on I caught my second wind. I started feeling better. I felt sharp when the bell rang for the ninth.”
The pace during Qawi-Holyfield 1 was unrelenting. Photo by Ring Magazine/ Getty Images
In retrospect, rounds six through eight of the first Qawi fight were the most important nine minutes of Evander Holyfield’s boxing life because the successful resolution of his war between the ears served to form the foundation that would animate the remainder of his career. Had he decided to submit, he would have had to live with the consequences for the rest of his life; it would have been his first professional loss, he would have lost untold tens of millions of potential future income and he likely would have been relegated to obscurity. But because he didn’t submit, he proved to himself that he had a champion’s drive when it absolutely counted the most. Under the most intense pressure imaginable — and with his body still losing fluids at a dangerous pace — Holyfield allowed the mental to override the physical, resulting in a performance of a lifetime.
But Qawi, proud champion that he was, was the one who forced Holyfield to question himself. In Round 6, Qawi ducked, dodged and weaved away from 17 consecutive punches, after which he drove in a dagger firing a more accurate 11-punch flurry, backing away, and flashing a smiling shrug. Even so, the difference in consistency and marksmanship kept Holyfield in the equation –and because clean punching is a major part of scoring fights, “The Real Deal” kept himself from being mathematically buried.
As the rounds ticked by, one could see Holyfield digging into his deepest recesses in the face of Qawi’s relentlessness while the champion sought opportunities to pounce while also doing his best to fend off the challenger’s flying fists. The styles meshed magnificently, and both men were investing full power and passion into each punch in the hopes of breaking the other. Neither succeeded, and as a result the fight went much longer than anyone had a right to believe.
The ninth saw Holyfield finally find that perfect distance in which he could land with maximum effectiveness while also limiting Qawi’s opportunities to strike. He landed his jab consistently, showed his strength by pushing Qawi away, and fired short right uppercuts and hooks without taking undue punishment in return. Holyfield stretched his advantage at the start of the 10th as his legs showed renewed life and his blows were delivered with extra speed and power. The second wind for which he had been waiting had finally arrived, and with the finish line inching closer and closer the mixture of euphoria and relief had to be palpable. But Holyfield wasn’t operating inside a vacuum; Qawi was still Qawi and he remained a never-ending threat because of his iron will, his steely chin, and his thirst for success.
Their shared goals but opposed paths continued to clash throughout the championship rounds. Having been in unknown territory since Round 9, Holyfield continued to examine the limits of his reserves by starting strongly in the opening minute only to throttle down later while Qawi, knowing he had to be behind on the scorecards in his opponents hometown, marched forward and seized upon any openings his wizened eyes perceived. The thousands that filled the Omni sought to boost the challenger’s energy by chanting “Holy! Holy! Holy!” but the object of their affection remained focused on living in the moment and taking care of his business.
Astonishingly, Holyfield appeared to be the fresher man during the final five rounds; an emphatic right uppercut-left hook-right cross-left hook snapped Qawi’s head late in the 13th and his improbable work rate in the 14th graphically showed just how weary the champion had become. The final round saw both men empty their chambers but Holyfield showed he had more bullets in his than Qawi did, and that, more than anything, proved to be the difference.
Fifteen seconds before the final bell, Qawi attempted one last veteran move. Shortly after taking a short right to the temple he stopped and took a couple of stuttering steps backward as if his brain had gone suddenly fuzzy. But it was all a ruse, for Qawi leapt out of his crouch and winged a desperate overhand right and hook that missed the target. Holyfield had passed one final test, and now it was up to the judges to determine whether he had earned his diploma.
Judge Gordon Volkman, a Wisconsin native, said no, as he had Qawi ahead 143-141. Neffie Quintana of New Mexico issued an overwhelming “yes” as he turned in a 147-138 scorecard in which he gave Holyfield nine of the final 10 rounds. Hall of Fame judge Harold Lederman cast the deciding vote, and, as was often the case, his score matched conventional wisdom: 144-140 for the winner…and new champion, Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield. For the record, Lederman gave Holyfield seven of the last 10 rounds.
It is a cliche for athletes to declare they were willing to invest their very last drop in the name of victory, but in Holyfield’s case it was the literal truth. Holyfield revealed he has lost 15 pounds during the fight and the back pain he was experiencing wasn’t just muscular but also renal; his kidneys were failing.
“I was going to go to a party after the fight, but when I went to the room to shower, I kind of stiffened up and felt nauseous and got a headache,” Holyfield told Ryan. “I called my doctor and he said we needed to get over to the hospital. He said I lost so much water that I started burning muscle. That can cause kidney failure. They put me on the IV and put nine containers in me.”
According to an October 1990 story penned by the Los Angeles Times’ Earl Gutskey, Holyfield came perilously close to permanent damage.
“First, his wife (Paulette) didn’t delay in calling for help,” said Holyfield’s doctor Ron Stephens. “Second, I lived just a mile or so away, and we were able to get a (kidney specialist) at the hospital, who was waiting for us when we arrived. We right away diagnosed him as being in severe dehydration. He was unable to urinate. We put a catheter in him and there was no urine in his bladder. We put on intravenous fluids and put 12 liters of fluid into him before he could produce a drop of urine. He was maybe a few hours away from striated muscle breakdown, and if those byproducts had clogged up his kidneys, his boxing career not only might have been over, he could have wound up on a kidney machine the rest of his life. He’s lucky his wife called when she did.”
Indeed. Holyfield stopped Qawi in four rounds in their December 1987 rematch en route to becoming an undisputed champion at cruiserweight. He then went on to become the only heavyweight in history to produce four separate championship tenures, and in a 26-year-career that ended in 2011 he produced a record of 44-10-2 (29) while also earning a plaque in Canastota as part of the IBHOF’s Class of 2017.
As for Qawi, he alternated between heavyweight and cruiserweight, with his final title opportunity coming in November 1989 against Robert Daniels for the vacant WBA belt. The 34-year-old lost by split decision, and while he ended his career with an eight-round points loss to Tony LaRosa in November 1998 while scaling a career-high 232, it was just his third loss in his last 12 fights and he ended his career at age 45 with a record eerily similar to Holyfield’s: 41-11-1 (25). By retiring 12 1/2 years before Holyfield’s final fight, he beat “The Real Deal” into the Hall of Fame by 13 years as he was inducted into the Class of 2004.
Evander Holyfield ended up in the hospital after the Qawi fight, hooked up to an IV, he actually thought about quitting the sport after that fight, that's how brutal it was.
Qawi forces Holyfield against the ropes.
Lou Duva encourages Holyfield in his corner during the fight.
Things get heated.
The final bell, the ending to the Cruiserweight version of the "Thrilla in Manilla."
Qawi had some great fights, he beat Matthew Saad Muhammad twice, stopped him both times, which was no easy feat. Saad Muhammad was a legend, known for being able to turn the tide of a fight he looked to be losing badly, they called him "Miracle Matthew" or "Miracle man."
For Qawi to be able to stop Matthew Saad Muhammad just shows you how brutal a man Qawi could be. Qawi was still known as Dwight Braxton when he fought Saad Muhammad, he had not yet changed his name to Qawi.
Qawi vs Saad Muhammad
Qawi vs Saad Muhammad 2.
Dwight Muhammad Qawi in training.
One of Qawi's most famous fights was in 1981, when he returned to Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, a place he had done 5 years for armed robbery. He returned their to fight James Scott, an inmate accused of murder that was doing a 30-40 year sentence for armed robbery, I'll talk a bit about that tomorrow.
Picking up where I left off, in 1981 Dwight Muhammad Qawi went back to Rahway State Prison to fight James Scott. At the time, Qawi was still known as Dwight Braxton, he had not yet changed his name to Qawi. Anyway, Qawi went back to Rahway, a place he had himself done 5 years for armed robbery, to fight James Scott. As a matter of fact, Qawi and Scott already knew each other, they had both been in the boxing prison program together when Qawi was there, and Scott had actually tutored Qawi. The thing is, Qawi was released on parole and he made something out of his life, while James Scott never took responsibility for the crimes that landed him at Rahway in the first place, in particular the murder of a young man named Everett Russ. One night in 1975, a female drug dealer was robbed in New Jersey, and a young man named Everett Russ was found shot to death, he had been shot four times inside the back seat of a car and thrown out into the street. As it so happens, a witness had taken down the license plate of the car Everett Russ was killed in, that car was then traced back to the owner, the owner turned out to be James Scott. Here is the story.
James Scott in his cell at Rahway State Prison in New Jersey
On May 8, 1975, James Scott, then an undefeated, and promising light heavyweight contender with a possible title shot on the horizon, heard that police in Newark wanted to talk to him, something to do with his car. Scott didn't bother to contact an attorney. "I thought," he later told Esquire's Phil Berger, "that I was a celebrity and there'd be no problem. I hadn't did anything wrong. What I need a lawyer for? I figured to take my car down there, answer some questions and come back home ... I had it made, a title shot for $100,000. My dream had come true. A press conference was set up for a Thursday and we were going to announce the fight." Scott drove from Trenton over to the Newark police headquarters and, by his account, calmly walked right in and answered their questions.
Scott's car had been seen in the vicinity of a murder and robbery. When the Newark police checked the car, they found bloodstains and a bullet hole. Scott insisted he had loaned the car to a friend. He was arrested the next day.
According to Berger's account for Esquire, the Essex County prosecutor's version of the night in question went like this:
Toward midnight on May 7, 1975, Everitt (sic) Russ was standing out front of a bar on Howard Street in Newark with a friend when he was approached by James O. Scott. Russ climbed into a blue four-door sedan with Scott and others. The car proceeded to the Lincoln projects in Newark, where Russ led them to the apartment of Leo Skinner. The way Russ told it, Skinner would be able to buy drugs for them in a building next door.
In that adjoining building, the men held the elevator for Yvonne Barrett, who lived up on the tenth floor with her sister Antoinette. The Barrett apartment, as it happened, was where the group was headed. Reluctant to take so many people there, Leo Skinner stopped the elevator on the eighth floor. At that point, one of Scott's companions, William Spinks, pulled out a pistol and ordered the project residents, Skinner and Barrett, out. Scott exited too. Everitt (sic) Russ rode to the lobby and waited in the sedan with the other man in Scott's party. Back on the eighth floor, Spinks handed the weapon to Scott, who pistol-whipped Skinner and ordered him to disrobe. Later, Spinks, holding the gun on Yvonne Barrett, robbed her sister's tenth floor apartment of $283 and glassine bags with white powder in them. At about 1:30 that morning, the body of Everitt (sic) Russ was pushed from a blue four-door sedan, dead from gunshot wounds.
As Russ's corpse smacked the pavement and the blue sedan screeched off, a passing motorist took down the license plate. The plate number was reported to the police and the car the license plate was attached to led to Scott.
Scott claimed he lent his car to Spinks and had nothing to do with the crimes, alleging a conspiracy involving the Newark police. He said Spinks' accomplice in the crime was someone from Newark named "Black Jack," whom Scott conceded resembled him a great deal in appearance.
William Spinks (unrelated to boxing brothers Leon and Michael) never had the chance to offer his own version of the events that day. One month after the crime, another stick-up claimed his life before police could locate, let alone question, him about the surrounding events that led to Russ' murder.
Leo Skinner offered to clarify the confusion regarding Black Jack and Scott. From Berger's Esquire article:
Questioned in court by the Essex County prosecutor, Skinner conceded that Black Jack and Scott, in his phrase, "could go for brothers" — they looked that much alike. But Skinner claimed there were differences, that Black Jack was smaller, his hairstyle slightly different. Then:
Q: Did Black Jack beat you up on the night of May 8, 1975?
A: (Skinner) No sir.
Q: Did Black Jack stick a gun in your mouth on May 8, 1975?
A: No sir.
Q: Did Black Jack make you strip off all your clothes on May 8, 1975?
A: No sir.
Q: Did Black Jack threaten to throw you off the roof on May 8, 1975?
A: No sir.
Q: Who did all those things to you on May 8, 1975?
A: Scott.
Nearly seven months later, a New Jersey Superior court jury deliberated 20 hours and convicted Scott of robbery, but split, 11-1, on the murder charge. Although The New York Times reported, "There was no indication whether the majority favored conviction or acquittal," the testimony of eyewitnesses left little doubt. Even though he beat the murder rap, as a multiple offender, Judge Ralph L. Fusco sentenced him to a 30-40-year prison term.
Later on, James Scott was retried for the murder of Everett Russ and found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, he was released in 2005 after serving only 28 years. But getting back to the story, in the late 70s and early 80s, James Scott found fame as a boxer in Rahway State Prison, he became a sort of sideshow attraction when he managed to have his fights televised on national television from the prison. The warden of Rahway State Prison at the time supported James Scott and allowed this to happen. It's a crazy story, James Brown actually came to the prison and sung the national anthem before one of the fights, Marv Albert sat ringside and broadcasted the fights for the television audience, and Sugar Ray Leonard and Ken Norton were guest broadcasters with Marv Albert. Seven fights total were broadcasted live from Rahway State Prison in NBC. It was really freaking weird hearing Marv Albert say, "And the challenger James Scott, an inmate here at Rahway State Prison, he is serving a life sentence for murder and 30-40 year sentence for armed robbery."
James Scott at Rahway State Prison
Now, Scott was a damn good fighter, tough as nails, and he managed to lure top ranked, world class fighters to the prison to fight him, and he beat most of them. He laid a pretty good beating on Eddie Gregory, he beat Richie Kates, and a few others, world class fighters, it was crazy. If James Scott wasn't such a horrible person, he would have had a great career outside the ring, he could fight. Scott was actually ranked at one time with the WBA, he was the second ranked contender in the WBA light heavyweight division, but the WBA would not give him a title shot, they didn't want to risk Scott winning the title, that would have been a disaster, the WBA champion a prisoner at Rahway? Can you imagine? Every contender that wanted a title shot would have to go to Rahway State Prison and fight Scott, the WBA said no to that. It wasn't long before Scott's story took a sharp turn downhill. James Scott looked damn near unbeatable in most of his fights at Rahway, very dominant, but in 1980, Jerry "the bull" Martin went to Rahway State Prison to fight James Scott, and Martin wasn't intimidated by Scott or the prison atmosphere. In the first round, Martin floored Scott with a vicious overhand right, Scott got up but he was hurt and on shaky legs for the rest of the round. Late in the second round, Martin floored Scott again, and Scott got up and recovered, but this was not the dominant Scott everyone was used to seeing, and Martin won by decision. This brings us to 1981, Dwight Muhammad Qawi goes to Rahway, this would be the end of the rodeo for James Scott. Very uneventful fight, Scott spent most of the fight staying the hell away from the stalking Qawi, when Qawi did close the distance he won most of the exchanges. Qawi racked up a lot of points using his left jab, it was about all he could do because Scott just stayed on his bicycle most of the fight, and Qawi rightfully won by decision.
James Scott in action at Rahway State Prison.
Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs James Scott.
Qawi vs Scott.
Anyway, that concludes my profile on Dwight Muhammad Qawi, aka Dwight Braxton, really loved watching him fight, one of my all-time favorites. I wish there were more fighters like him today.
"The Camden Buzzsaw", Dwight Muhammad Qawi.
Laszlo Papp, middleweight, he's one of the only boxers to retire undefeated. He was also the first boxer to win three straight Gold medals in the Olympics, having won Gold in London in 1948, Helsinki in 1952, and in Melbourne in 1956. He is a legend in this sport, one of the biggest "what if's" of all-time. He didn't turn pro until he was 31, but during his short pro career, he never tasted defeat, going 27-0-2. He was on the verge of a world middleweight title shot against the legendary middleweight champion Joey Giardello, but just like that, boom, his country, communist Hungary, put a permanent stop to his career, his career was over forever. You see, Hungary was a communist country, and they had socialist policies and they didn't believe in fighting for money, so they stripped him of his passport and ended his career, damn shame, because he's one of the greatest middleweights I've ever seen. He was a hard punching southpaw with great movement and a searing left hook, I have no doubt he would have been a world champion, but despite everything, he made it to the hall of fame, and deservedly so.
Below are some great photos of the legendary Laszlo Papp. He had brittle hands and suffered injuries from them, but despite that, he still had serious knockout power and was never unbeaten, he was clever as hell in the ring.
Laszlo Papp in training.