On December 19, 1981 Dwight Braxton faced Mathew Saad Muhammad in Atlantic City…..when the ex-convict Braxton was the underdog against Saad,….who was one of the most popular fighters of his generation and a fellow Hall of Famer….but Braxton defeated him on a 10th-round TKO….and became a world champion for the first time…..and It was shortly after this that he announced his conversion to Islam and changed his name to Dwight Muhammad Qawi.
Qawi defended the title three times in the next 15 months….knocking out Jerry Martin, Saad Muhammad a second time and Eddie Davis…..but in March 1983…. he lost a close but unanimous decision to WBA champion Michael Spinks in a unification bout.
Dwight Muhammad Qawi felt that making the division’s 175-pound weight limit had drained him physically….and resolved to seek another world title in the newly created cruiserweight division….so, freed from the need to fight to keep his weight down…..Qawi reeled off another series of wins and claimed the WBA cruiserweight title on July 7, 1985….after knocking out Piet Crous in South Africa.
