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| Date | March 18, 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Atlantic City Convention Hall inAtlantic City, New Jersey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA,WBC,The Ring andlineal light heavyweight titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spinks defeated Muhammad Qawi via Unanimous decision | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 defeatedMatthew Saad Muhammad for theWBC world title, and Spinks had defeatedEddie Mustafa Muhammad for theWBA 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 asDwight Braxton. He still had not talked much in public about his name change and hisMuslim faith. About seven days before the fight, he revealed that his doctors had recommended him not to fight, as he had been diagnosed withpneumonia. This diagnosis put the fight in jeopardy, but he decided to go on with the fight.
The bout was carried live onHBO Boxing. The bout was fought atAtlantic City, New Jersey, near Qawi's hometown ofPhiladelphia, 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]
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 aknockout. But Spinks made him miss frequently, bobbing his head and trying to keep his distance from Qawi. (In 2006, Qawi bitterly toldSports Illustrated that Spinks "ran like a thief"[2] during the fight.)
After the fight ended, the scorecards were read: judgeTony Castellano had scored the fight 144–140, judgeTony Perez had it at 144–141, and judgeFrank 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 duringtraining, three weeks before the fight.
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.
Both fighters are now members of theInternational Boxing Hall of Fame.
Confirmed bouts:[3]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United States | HBO |