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Former two-division world champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi, who picked up the sport while serving time in prison and went on to gain induction in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, died Friday at 72.
News of Qawi’s death broke Sunday when his sister, Wanda King, informed the Associated Press that Qawi passed away following a five-year battle with dementia. A native of Baltimore, Qawi spent most of his childhood in Camden, New Jersey, and lived there until his death.
As a boxer, Qawi (41-11-1, 25 KOs) was as rough-and-tumble as they come over a 20-year career in which he held the WBC lightweight title (1981-83) and the WBA cruiserweight title (1985-86). A 2004 inductee to the IBHOF, the daring fighter who boxed under his given name of Dwight Braxton until a conversion to Islam in 1981, was best known for memorable fights against fellow HOFers Matthew Saad Muhammad, Evander Holyfield, Michael Spinks and George Foreman.
Despite standing at just 5-foot-6 1/2, Qawi earned his nickname of “The Camden Buzzsaw” the hard way following a youth filled with crime and an eventual five-year prison sentence for armed robbery. But it was at Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, the same facility which hosted live boxing matches to be aired on national television featuring inmate and light heavyweight contender James Scott (whom Qawi defeated in 1981), that Qawi’s life was turned around forever.
Qawi turned pro less than one year after exiting prison in 1978 and, despite a 1-1-1 start, he reeled off 14 consecutive wins to earn a 1981 title shot against the WBC 175-pound champion Muhammad. Qawi won via 10th-round TKO, and would defeat Muhammad even quicker in their 1982 rematch.
Embodying a fighting style heavy on feints and head movement that he mastered while training in Joe Frazier’s Philadelphia gym as a young pro, Qawi remained comfortable fighting in the pocket for the majority of his career. His 15-round cruiserweight title war in 1986 against Holyfield, who Qawi lost via split decision against in a modern classic, was arguably the single most entertaining and brutal bout of his career.
Qawi, following a brief run as a cruiserweight titleholder, spent the final decade of his career as a heavyweight and suffered stoppage defeats to Holyfield (in their 1987 rematch) and a comebacking Foreman the following year. After retirement, Qawi spent his time training young boxers and working as a youth advocate and drug/alcohol counselor in New Jersey.