Michael Spinks vs. Dwight Muhammad Qawi, billed as "The Brawl for it All", was a professional boxing match contested on March 18, 1983 for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship.
"The Brawl for it All" was a long-awaited match. Qawi had defeated Matthew Saad Muhammad for the WBC world title, and Spinks had defeated Eddie Mustafa Muhammad for the WBA world title. Both Qawi and Spinks had defeated some top name challengers during the course of their championship runs; boxing fans and experts alike clamoured for the fight to take place.
The fight had some dramatic backgrounds: two months before, Spinks' longtime girlfriend, who was the mother of his only daughter, had died after a car accident.[1] On fight night, Spinks' two-year-old daughter, unaware that her mother had died, walked into Spinks' locker room and asked when would her mother show up to see the fight. Spinks cried, but he was able to keep his composure.
Qawi had been better known to most fans as Dwight Braxton. He still had not talked much in public about his name change and his Muslim faith. About seven days before the fight, he revealed that his doctors had recommended him not to fight, as he had been diagnosed with pneumonia. This diagnosis put the fight in jeopardy, but he decided to go on with the fight.
Spinks surprised many observers by taking a technical stance from the beginning, and Qawi, in his typical style, charged forward, chasing Spinks. Rounds one to six were, in the eyes of many, including the judges, dominated by Spinks . By the middle rounds, however, Qawi began to untrack, and, in round eight, Spinks suffered two falls: the first one was ruled a slip, but the second one was a controversial knockdown. As Spinks stepped on one of Qawi's feet, Qawi landed a blow to Spinks' body. Left without any choice (because Qawi had landed a punch the moment before Spinks fell), the referee, Larry Hazzard, issued an eight-second count after Spinks rose, making it officially Spinks' first career fall. The knockdown was controversial, because many continue to argue that, had Spinks not stepped on Qawi's foot, Qawi would have never been credited with knocking Spinks down.[citation needed]
Qawi, perhaps because of his pneumonia, tired somewhat and backtracked during rounds eleven to thirteen, rounds which would later become key rounds in the fight.
Suspecting that he was behind on points, Qawi became more aggressive in rounds fourteen and fifteen. He staggered Spinks with two rights towards the end of round fourteen, but could not finish up his foe as the bell rang soon afterwards. Qawi came swinging from every angle at the start of the last round, probably desperate to score a knockout. But Spinks made him miss frequently, bobbing his head and trying to keep his distance from Qawi. (In 2006, Qawi bitterly told Sports Illustrated that Spinks "ran like a thief"[2] during the fight.)
Decision
After the fight ended, the scorecards were read: judge Tony Castellano had scored the fight 144–140, judge Tony Perez had it at 144–141, and judge Frank Cappuccino had it also at 144–141, all in favor of Spinks.
The closeness of the decision made fans write to magazines and newspapers, asking for a rematch. The rematch came very close to happening; it was set for September 27 of 1984, but it was cancelled after Qawi was injured during training, three weeks before the fight.
Aftermath
Spinks went on to become the first world light heavyweight champion in boxing history to go up in weight and win the world heavyweight title. Qawi, for his part, went up to the cruiserweight division, where he reigned as WBA world champion from 1985 to 1986.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Michael Spinks vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Michael Spinks vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi billed as The Brawl for it All was a professional boxing match contested on March 18 1983 for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship The Brawl for it AllDateMarch 18 1983VenueAtlantic City Convention Hall in Atlantic City New JerseyTitle s on the lineWBA WBC The Ring and lineal light heavyweight titlesTale of the tapeBoxerMichael SpinksDwight Muhammad QawiNickname Jinx The Camden Buzzsaw HometownSt Louis MissouriLindenwold New JerseyPre fight record22 019 1 1Height6 ft 2 1 2 in 189 cm 5 ft 7 in 170 cm Weight173 lb 78 kg 174 lb 79 kg StyleOrthodoxOrthodoxRecognitionWBA light heavyweight championWBC and The Ring light heavyweight championResultSpinks defeated Muhammad Qawi via Unanimous decision Contents 1 Background 2 The fight 3 Decision 4 Aftermath 5 Undercard 6 Broadcasting 7 ReferencesBackground Edit The Brawl for it All was a long awaited match Qawi had defeated Matthew Saad Muhammad for the WBC world title and Spinks had defeated Eddie Mustafa Muhammad for the WBA world title Both Qawi and Spinks had defeated some top name challengers during the course of their championship runs boxing fans and experts alike clamoured for the fight to take place The fight had some dramatic backgrounds two months before Spinks longtime girlfriend who was the mother of his only daughter had died after a car accident 1 On fight night Spinks two year old daughter unaware that her mother had died walked into Spinks locker room and asked when would her mother show up to see the fight Spinks cried but he was able to keep his composure Qawi had been better known to most fans as Dwight Braxton He still had not talked much in public about his name change and his Muslim faith About seven days before the fight he revealed that his doctors had recommended him not to fight as he had been diagnosed with pneumonia This diagnosis put the fight in jeopardy but he decided to go on with the fight The bout was carried live on HBO Boxing The bout was fought at Atlantic City New Jersey near Qawi s hometown of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Some fans and critics would later say that the fight did not live up to its name because they were expecting an action packed fight citation needed The fight EditSpinks surprised many observers by taking a technical stance from the beginning and Qawi in his typical style charged forward chasing Spinks Rounds one to six were in the eyes of many including the judges dominated by Spinks By the middle rounds however Qawi began to untrack and in round eight Spinks suffered two falls the first one was ruled a slip but the second one was a controversial knockdown As Spinks stepped on one of Qawi s feet Qawi landed a blow to Spinks body Left without any choice because Qawi had landed a punch the moment before Spinks fell the referee Larry Hazzard issued an eight second count after Spinks rose making it officially Spinks first career fall The knockdown was controversial because many continue to argue that had Spinks not stepped on Qawi s foot Qawi would have never been credited with knocking Spinks down citation needed Qawi perhaps because of his pneumonia tired somewhat and backtracked during rounds eleven to thirteen rounds which would later become key rounds in the fight Suspecting that he was behind on points Qawi became more aggressive in rounds fourteen and fifteen He staggered Spinks with two rights towards the end of round fourteen but could not finish up his foe as the bell rang soon afterwards Qawi came swinging from every angle at the start of the last round probably desperate to score a knockout But Spinks made him miss frequently bobbing his head and trying to keep his distance from Qawi In 2006 Qawi bitterly told Sports Illustrated that Spinks ran like a thief 2 during the fight Decision EditAfter the fight ended the scorecards were read judge Tony Castellano had scored the fight 144 140 judge Tony Perez had it at 144 141 and judge Frank Cappuccino had it also at 144 141 all in favor of Spinks The closeness of the decision made fans write to magazines and newspapers asking for a rematch The rematch came very close to happening it was set for September 27 of 1984 but it was cancelled after Qawi was injured during training three weeks before the fight Aftermath EditSpinks went on to become the first world light heavyweight champion in boxing history to go up in weight and win the world heavyweight title Qawi for his part went up to the cruiserweight division where he reigned as WBA world champion from 1985 to 1986 Both fighters are now members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame Undercard EditConfirmed bouts 3 Johnny Davis KO9 Jerry Martin Ubaldo Sacco W10 Willie Rodriguez Elio Diaz KO5 Bruce Finch James Shuler KO4 Inocencio de la Rosa Jose Maria Flores Burlon KO3 Dornell Wigfall Leon Taylor W6 Bashiru Ali Najee Ullah W4 Ken Ringo Earl Grant W4 Mauro Fernandes da CruzBroadcasting EditCountry Broadcaster United States HBOReferences Edit Michael Spinks vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi BoxRec SI com Sportsillustrated cnn com Retrieved 2014 06 27 BoxRec event Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michael Spinks vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi amp oldid 1108821816, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
