Hall of Fame Boxer Wight Muhammadkawi dies at 72

The sport of boxing lost another member of the prestigious fraternity as it was confirmed by its former double-heavy world champion on the night of Friday, July 25th. Dwight Muhammad Kawi He passed away at the age of 72.

The Hall of Fame boxer was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but he grew up in Camden, New Jersey. Known as Dwight Braxton at the time, Kawi took part in criminal acts as a young man and paid the price for lifestyle choices when convicted of armed robbery.

While at Raaway State Prison, future Hall of Fames participated in the boxing program. At that particular point, he did not believe that the activities introduced to continue occupying him during his five-year prison stint would be a favorable career choice.

Dwight Braxton was released from prison in 1978.

On April 19, 1978, at age 25, Braxton made his professional boxing debut when he and Leonard Langley fought a draw. Braxton had a new lease and a new perspective on life.

In addition to his new career, Braxton converted to Islam and changed his name to Dwight Muhammad Kawi. In his fourth year as a professional, Kawi defeated Matthew Sard Muhammad in a 10th round TKO to win the WBC Light Heavyweight World Title.

Qawi continues to create three successful title defenses. In March 1983, Kawi’s reign as a world champion ended when he lost a 15-round battle with Michael Spinks.

The former champion bounced back and won four times. On July 27, 1985, Dwight Muhammadkawi became a double-heavy world champion when he stopped Pietoklaus in the 11th round and won the WBA cruiserweight world title.

In March 1983, Kawi lost Michael Spinks’ light heavyweight title, and three years later he was defending the cruiserweight title against his brother Leon Spinks. This time, things worked courtesy of Kawi when he defeated Leon Spinks via TKO in the sixth round.

Qawi’s days as the WBA cruiserweight champion ended in July 1986 when he lost Holyfield to Evander via a split decision. A year later, Qawi received a rematch against Holyfield and was stopped in the fourth round.

Kawi will move to heavyweight and suffer consecutive knockout losses as he was knocked out by George Foreman in the seventh round. Kawi ended his career by winning 13 of his final 18 fights.

At the age of 46, Dwight Muhammad Kawi officially retired from boxing in 1999 with a record (41-11-1, 25 KOs). The double world champion known as “Camden Buzz Saw” was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.

Kawi’s sister, Wanda King, was part of the family that confirmed his death. She also issued the following statement about Qawi while addressing the media:

“He was a great father and a great pop-pop of his grandson. He had a heart of gold and was battling dementia disease like he was fighting in the ring.”