Dwight Muhammad Qawi Interview | Never Give up | Inspirational

First published at 04:39 UTC on April 5th, 2020.

Dwight Muhammad Qawi (Formally Known as Dwight Braxton)
Born January 5, 1953/Birth Place- Baltimore, Maryland, but grew up in Camden, New Jersey. Dwight Braxton was involved in crime form a young age and this would carry on until he was eventually convicted of armed robbery and spent more than four years at New Jersey's Rahway State Prison. During this time, Qawi finally found his calling in life, the sport of boxing. Braxton began sharpening his boxing skills and upon release in March 1978, Qawi immediately became a professional boxer and began training at Joe Frazier's Gym in Philadelphia where he engaged in heated sparring sessions with tough Philadelphian fighters, including Bennie Briscoe!
With only one month of training under his belt and no amateur fights, the 5' 7" powerhouse turned pro in April 1978. At age 25, he wasted little time and soon met and defeated quality opponents. He defeated former light heavyweight king Mike Rossman and James Scott (in a bout held in Rahway) in only his 16th and 17th pro fights. In his next bout, December 19, 1981, the relentless Braxton stopped Hall of Famer Matthew Saad Muhammad via 10th round TKO to win the WBC light heavyweight belt. In the rematch held in Philadelphia eight months later, he again stopped Saad, this time in the 6th round. In 1982 he legally changed his name to Dwight Muhammad Qawi following his conversion to Islam. The win over Saad and successful title defenses over Jerry Martin and Eddie Davis led to a unification bout with WBA champ and Hall of Famer Michael Spinks. Spinks out-pointed him over 15-rounds, however, Qawi was undeterred as he moved up in weight to next capture the WBA cruiserweight title from Piet Crous on July 27, 1985. After a title defense over Leon Spinks, he defended against Evander Holyfield on July 12, 1986, with Holyfield winning the 15-round split decision in an action-packed thriller. Unsuccessful in a rematch 17 months later, he began campaigning as a heavyweight. Qawi would fight for the cruiserweight title once more, dropping a 12-round bout to Robert Daniels in 1989.
Qawi continued to ply his trade until retiring from the sport in 1998. Behind an aggressive, crouching ring style, the intimidating Qawi logged a 41-11-1 (25KOs) ring record.
Qawi's Style
He was an extremely powerful, hard-hitting light heavyweight, and was also a deceptively clever boxer with a solid chin. He would work his way in behind his high guard, slipping punchers and then banging with those strong arms, particularly his left hook. He would also crouch very low to avoid punchers.

Sources:
http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/qawi.html
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dwight-Qawi