Matthew Saad Muhammad
Encyclopedia
Matthew Saad Muhammad (born Maxwell Antonio Loach, June 16, 1954) is a former boxer
who was the world's light heavyweight champion.
Saad Muhammad's mother died when he was an infant, and he and his elder brother were sent to live with an aunt. When he was five, his aunt could not afford to look after both of them and she instructed Saad Muhammad's brother to get rid of him. His brother took him to Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin
Parkway and then ran away. Saad Muhammad was taken in by Catholic Social Services. The nuns gave him the name Matthew Franklin (after the saint and the park where he was abandoned).
Saad Muhammad was very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s among boxing fans because of his particularly action-oriented style. Saad Muhammad was known for his ability to take punishment and mount comebacks, and because of this, he was nicknamed Miracle Matthew.
Saad Muhammad was also part of a group of world light heavyweight champions who became Muslim
s and changed their names during his era as a Light-Heavyweight, the others being Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
(born as Eddie Gregory), and Dwight Muhammad Qawi
(born as Dwight Braxton).
Saad Muhammad began to box professionally in 1974, with a second-round knockout
win against Billy Early. He posted seven more wins that year, before suffering his first loss, at the hands of Wayne McGee by a decision in six.
In 1975, he had two wins and then he and McGee fought again, that time around, resulting in a six round draw. In 1976, Saad Muhammad had a major step up in opponent quality: He faced future world champions Marvin Camel
and Mate Parlov
, both of them twice.
His first fight with Parlov, in Milan
, was also his first fight abroad. He beat Parlov by an eight-round decision. He then beat Camel by a ten round decision, but lost to him by a ten round decision in a rematch. After returning to Italy
for a rematch with Parlov, he and Parlov struggled to a ten round draw.
He began 1977 by losing to Mustafa Muhammad (then Gregory), but he quickly turned things around by facing the future three time world champion Marvin Johnson
, for the United States
Light-Heavyweight title. In his first national television
exposure, Saad Muhammad ended up winning by a knockout in round 12, obtaining the regional championship. Shortly after becoming champion, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Matthew Saad Muhammad.
In 1978, the wins kept on coming: He won all four of his bouts that year and defended the United States title against former world title challenger Richie Kates and against four time world title challenger Yaqui López
. The Lopez fight, their first of two, was considered a classic by boxing experts, and Saad Muhammad survived a relentless attack by López to retain the belt with an 11th-round knockout.
By 1979, Johnson had become world champion by defeating Parlov, and Saad Muhammad felt he deserved a chance at the world title. So, on April 22, they met for a second time, this time in Johnson's hometown of Indianapolis
. This fight was also considered by many experts as a Saad Muhammad classic, and has been shown on ESPN
Classic's Classic Fights show. Saad Muhammad won the WBC
's world light heavyweight crown with an eight round knockout of Johnson, after staggering him with a right hand towards the end of the seventh round.
For his first defense, he met former world champion John Conteh
in Atlantic City
. He retained the world title with a 15 round decision. The decision, however, was unpopular and an immediate rematch was ordered, so they met again, this time Saad Muhammad retaining the crown with a knockout in round four. After beating Louis Pergaud, he and López met again, this time, with the world title on the line. Their rematch has also been shown by ESPN's classic network several times, and it was the fight of the year for 1980, according to Ring Magazine. Saad Muhammad was hit with 20 unanswered blows in round eight, but he recovered and dropped López five times in route to a 14th-round knockout win.
He then went on to defeat Lottie Mwale
, Vonzell Johnson, future world Super-Middleweight champion Murray Sutherland
and Jerry Martin, all in defense of his world title, before facing Muhammad Qawi (then Braxton) in December 1981. In yet another fight that would later by shown on ESPN's classic network, Saad Muhammad lost his title when Qawi knocked him out in 10 rounds.
Saad Muhammad entered 1982 with a rematch against Qawi within his sights, and he defeated Pete McIntyre by a knockout in round two. The rematch between Saad Muhammad and Qawi came off in August, at Saad Muhammad's hometown of Philadelphia
. The second time around, Qawi won by a knockout in round six.
From there on until 1992, Saad Muhammad fought sporadically and with limited success. He had been confronting vision problems, and in 1986, he declared himself in bankruptcy
. He did, however, fight in many countries around the world between the moment he lost the rematch to Qawi and the moment he retired for good. Among those countries were Australia
, Spain
, The Bahamas
and Trinidad and Tobago
.
Saad Muhammad also took a turn in the forerunner of mixed martial arts in Japan, participating in the first UWF International
(UWFi) event in 1991. Matched against Kiyoshi Tamura
, Saad Muhammad talked a great deal at a lead-in press conference. He declined to say in which round he would knock Tamura out, but guaranteed a victory. Tamura submitted Saad Muhammad 34 seconds into the first round.
Saad Muhammad retired from professional boxing with a record of 39 wins, 16 losses and 3 draws, with 29 wins by knockout.
In 1998, he became a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
.
Muhammad trained up and coming fighters out of Atlantic City, New Jersey
and worked closely with former Indian Olympic boxing team heavyweight Gurcharan "The Guru" Singh. Singh was scheduled to fight in Slough's Montem Lesiure Centre, England in October 2006 and was accompanied by Saad Muhammad, however due to injury to Singh's knee he was unable to fight.
As of July 2010, Muhammad was homeless and living in a shelter in Philadelphia.
Muhammad was listed as number 24 on Ring Magazines list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who was the world's light heavyweight champion.
Saad Muhammad's mother died when he was an infant, and he and his elder brother were sent to live with an aunt. When he was five, his aunt could not afford to look after both of them and she instructed Saad Muhammad's brother to get rid of him. His brother took him to Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
Parkway and then ran away. Saad Muhammad was taken in by Catholic Social Services. The nuns gave him the name Matthew Franklin (after the saint and the park where he was abandoned).
Saad Muhammad was very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s among boxing fans because of his particularly action-oriented style. Saad Muhammad was known for his ability to take punishment and mount comebacks, and because of this, he was nicknamed Miracle Matthew.
Saad Muhammad was also part of a group of world light heavyweight champions who became Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s and changed their names during his era as a Light-Heavyweight, the others being Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad is a retired American boxer.- Amateur career :Boxing under his birth name, Eddie Gregory, Muhammad won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Gregory won both the 1971 and the 1972 New York Golden Gloves 147 lb Open Championships...
(born as Eddie Gregory), and Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi is a former world boxing champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions...
(born as Dwight Braxton).
Saad Muhammad began to box professionally in 1974, with a second-round knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
win against Billy Early. He posted seven more wins that year, before suffering his first loss, at the hands of Wayne McGee by a decision in six.
In 1975, he had two wins and then he and McGee fought again, that time around, resulting in a six round draw. In 1976, Saad Muhammad had a major step up in opponent quality: He faced future world champions Marvin Camel
Marvin Camel
Marvin Camel is a boxer and member of the Salish Kootenai Nation of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Northwestern Montana. He was born in Ronan and fought out of Missoula...
and Mate Parlov
Mate Parlov
Mate Parlov was a Croatian boxer, and an Olympic gold medalist for former Yugoslavia. As a professional, he won the European light heavyweight title in 1976 and WBC light heavyweight world title in 1978....
, both of them twice.
His first fight with Parlov, in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, was also his first fight abroad. He beat Parlov by an eight-round decision. He then beat Camel by a ten round decision, but lost to him by a ten round decision in a rematch. After returning to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for a rematch with Parlov, he and Parlov struggled to a ten round draw.
He began 1977 by losing to Mustafa Muhammad (then Gregory), but he quickly turned things around by facing the future three time world champion Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson
Marvin Johnson is a former boxer from the United States, who fought in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, winning a bronze medal, and made his way up the professional ranks in the light heavyweight division soon thereafter...
, for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Light-Heavyweight title. In his first national television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
exposure, Saad Muhammad ended up winning by a knockout in round 12, obtaining the regional championship. Shortly after becoming champion, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Matthew Saad Muhammad.
In 1978, the wins kept on coming: He won all four of his bouts that year and defended the United States title against former world title challenger Richie Kates and against four time world title challenger Yaqui López
Yaqui López
Álvaro López is a former Mexican boxer and current member of the Boxing Hall of Fame. A native of Zacatecas, Zacatecas, López was very popular among Mexicans and is considered by many as one the greatest Light Heavyweights to never become world champion.-Early life:The fascinating story of López...
. The Lopez fight, their first of two, was considered a classic by boxing experts, and Saad Muhammad survived a relentless attack by López to retain the belt with an 11th-round knockout.
By 1979, Johnson had become world champion by defeating Parlov, and Saad Muhammad felt he deserved a chance at the world title. So, on April 22, they met for a second time, this time in Johnson's hometown of Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. This fight was also considered by many experts as a Saad Muhammad classic, and has been shown on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Classic's Classic Fights show. Saad Muhammad won the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
's world light heavyweight crown with an eight round knockout of Johnson, after staggering him with a right hand towards the end of the seventh round.
For his first defense, he met former world champion John Conteh
John Conteh
John Conteh is a British former boxer who was world light-heavyweight boxing champion.Conteh is one of Britain's most successful boxing champions. At his peak in the mid to late 1970s he was considered good enough that he was touted as a possible opponent of Muhammad Ali...
in Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
. He retained the world title with a 15 round decision. The decision, however, was unpopular and an immediate rematch was ordered, so they met again, this time Saad Muhammad retaining the crown with a knockout in round four. After beating Louis Pergaud, he and López met again, this time, with the world title on the line. Their rematch has also been shown by ESPN's classic network several times, and it was the fight of the year for 1980, according to Ring Magazine. Saad Muhammad was hit with 20 unanswered blows in round eight, but he recovered and dropped López five times in route to a 14th-round knockout win.
He then went on to defeat Lottie Mwale
Lottie Mwale
Lottie Mwale was a Zambian male Light Heavyweight-class boxer born in Wusakile, Zambia. He started his career at Rhokana Amateur Boxing Club in Kitwe in the early 1960s later becoming the first Zambian sportsman to win a Commonwealth gold medal, achieving the feat at the 1974 Commonwealth Games...
, Vonzell Johnson, future world Super-Middleweight champion Murray Sutherland
Murray Sutherland
Murray Sutherland was a Scottish boxer in the middleweight division.Murry Sutherland turned professional in 1977 and in 1981 challenged WBC Light Heavyweight Title holder Matthew Saad Muhammad, but lost by KO in the 9th round. Matthew Saad Muhammad was later quoted as saying that Sutherland was...
and Jerry Martin, all in defense of his world title, before facing Muhammad Qawi (then Braxton) in December 1981. In yet another fight that would later by shown on ESPN's classic network, Saad Muhammad lost his title when Qawi knocked him out in 10 rounds.
Saad Muhammad entered 1982 with a rematch against Qawi within his sights, and he defeated Pete McIntyre by a knockout in round two. The rematch between Saad Muhammad and Qawi came off in August, at Saad Muhammad's hometown of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. The second time around, Qawi won by a knockout in round six.
From there on until 1992, Saad Muhammad fought sporadically and with limited success. He had been confronting vision problems, and in 1986, he declared himself in bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. He did, however, fight in many countries around the world between the moment he lost the rematch to Qawi and the moment he retired for good. Among those countries were Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
and Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
.
Saad Muhammad also took a turn in the forerunner of mixed martial arts in Japan, participating in the first UWF International
UWF International
Union of Wrestling Forces International, better known as UWF International, U-Inter, or simply UWFi, was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1991 to 1996. Although the matches were worked , the UWF-i was very convincing for its time, promoting a more hard-hitting, realistic...
(UWFi) event in 1991. Matched against Kiyoshi Tamura
Kiyoshi Tamura
is a Japanese middleweight professional wrestler and mixed martial artist.Once a student of legendary Pro Wrestler Akira Maeda, Tamura is known for his skill in catch wrestling as well as his ability to deliver exciting and realistic professional wrestling bouts....
, Saad Muhammad talked a great deal at a lead-in press conference. He declined to say in which round he would knock Tamura out, but guaranteed a victory. Tamura submitted Saad Muhammad 34 seconds into the first round.
Saad Muhammad retired from professional boxing with a record of 39 wins, 16 losses and 3 draws, with 29 wins by knockout.
In 1998, he became a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
.
Muhammad trained up and coming fighters out of Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
and worked closely with former Indian Olympic boxing team heavyweight Gurcharan "The Guru" Singh. Singh was scheduled to fight in Slough's Montem Lesiure Centre, England in October 2006 and was accompanied by Saad Muhammad, however due to injury to Singh's knee he was unable to fight.
As of July 2010, Muhammad was homeless and living in a shelter in Philadelphia.
Muhammad was listed as number 24 on Ring Magazines list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.