A former opponent of Evander Holyfield and George Foreman has revealed someone he deemed even better than the legendary heavyweight duo.
Regarded as being two of the greatest heavyweights to have ever laced up the gloves, Foreman and Holyfield enjoyed considerable success throughout the course of their respective professional careers.
‘Big George’ remains the oldest world heavyweight champion in boxing history, a feat he achieved back in 1994 when he knocked out countryman Michael Moorer in the 10th round of their Las Vegas showdown to capture the unified WBA and IBF titles.
Holyfield wrote his own name into the boxing history books back in 1990 when he defeated James ‘Buster’ Douglas to become the first fighter in the history of boxing to win the undisputed championship at cruiserweight and heavyweight, a record that remained unmatched until last year.
One man that shared the ring with both Foreman and ‘The Real Deal’ is Baltimore’s Dwight Muhammad Qawi, who held world titles at light-heavyweight and cruiserweight during his career before making the move up to heavyweight.
Qawi met Holyfield twice, losing their first bout by split decision before then suffering a fourth round stoppage defeat to ‘The Real Deal’ in the rematch. He then met Foreman three months after his defeat to Holyfield, losing by seventh round stoppage.
They didn’t make the cut when deciding his toughest rival though, as in a round of ‘Best I Faced’ with The Ring Magazine, Qawi revealed Matthew Saad Muhammad as the best fighter that he ever shared the ring with.
“They all presented a challenge. Michael (Spinks), he would always be a challenge for me. I shared a ring with Foreman, but not in his heyday. My best overall fighter whom I faced was Matthew Saad Muhammad. He reminded me of Sugar Ray Robinson.”
He added:
“I could think of another, but can’t get around the asterisk that’s in the way.”
That caveat likely alludes to Qawi’s insistence that Holyfield used ‘artificial enhancements’ when they fought, which he mentioned elsewhere in the interview.
Qawi – who passed away in July of this year – faced Muhammad twice within the space of eight months between December 1981 and August 1982, defeating his countryman via stoppage in their first encounter to become the WBC light-heavyweight champion before repeating this feat in what was the second defence of his crown.
Muhammad held the WBC light heavyweight title himself between 1979 and 1981, making an impressive eight title defences during that short span of time.
