Matthew Saad Muhammad (born Maxwell Antonio Loach; June 16, 1954 – May 25, 2014) was an American professional boxer who was the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World for two-and-a-half years.

Background

Saad Muhammad's mother died when he was an infant,^[1] and he and his elder brother were sent to live with an aunt. When he was five, his aunt could not afford to look after both of them and she instructed his brother to get rid of him. His brother took him to Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway and then ran away. Saad was found in the early hours asleep on the steps of a church. He was then taken in by Catholic Social Services. The nuns gave him the name Matthew Franklin (after the saint and the parkway where he was found). Matthew lived in foster care until a couple from Philadelphia adopted him, raised him, and took care of him like he was their own.^[2]

Saad Muhammad was very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s among boxing fans because of his particularly action-oriented style. Saad Muhammad was known for his ability to take punishment and mount comebacks, and because of this, he was nicknamed Miracle Matthew.

Saad Muhammad was also part of a group of world light heavyweight champions who became Muslims and changed their names during his era as a Light-Heavyweight, the others being Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (born as Eddie Gregory), and Dwight Muhammad Qawi (born as Dwight Braxton). Saad Muhammad confirmed this in interviews following his boxing career, stating that he was inspired to convert by Muhammad Ali's conversion.^[3]

Amateur career

Saad Muhammad had a relatively short amateur career, consisting of only 20 amateur bouts. He won the Trenton (NJ) Golden Gloves in 1973 and turned pro the following year.^[4]

Professional boxing career

Saad Muhammad began to box professionally in 1974, winning his first fight with a second-round knockout win against Billy Early. He posted seven more wins that year before suffering his first loss at the hands of Wayne McGee by a decision in six rounds.

In 1975, after two wins, he and McGee fought again, in a six-round draw. In 1976, he had two matches each with future world champions Marvin Camel and Mate Parlov.

His first fight with Parlov, in Milan, was also his first fight abroad. He beat Parlov in an eight-round decision. He then beat Camel in a ten-round decision, but lost the rematch, also in a ten-round decision. He returned to Italy for a rematch with Parlov, which resulted in a ten-round draw.

Saad Muhammad began 1977 by losing to Mustafa Muhammad (then Edward Lee Gregory), but then defeated the future three-time world champion Marvin Johnson by a knockout in round 12 for the United States Light-Heavyweight title in his first nationally televised match.

In 1978, he won all four of his bouts, including successful defenses of his title against former world title challenger Richie Kates and against four-time world title challenger Yaqui López. The Lopez fight, their first of two, was considered a classic by boxing experts, Saad Muhammad surviving a relentless attack by López to score an 11th-round knockout.

In 1979, after Johnson became world champion by defeating Parlov, he and Saad Muhammad met again on April 22 in Johnson's hometown of Indianapolis for the WBC's world light heavyweight crown . In a fight considered by many experts as a Saad Muhammad classic, and which subsequently featured on ESPN's Classic Fights show, Saad Muhammad won with an eight-round knockout after staggering Johnson towards the end of the seventh round. Shortly afterward, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Matthew Saad Muhammad.^[5]

In his first title defense, Saad Muhammad met former world champion John Conteh in Atlantic City. He retained the world title with a 15-round decision. The decision, however, was voided and a rematch ordered because Muhammad's cornermen used an illegal substance to stop the bleeding from a cut.^[6] Muhammad retained the crown with a knockout in round four in the second bout.^[7] After defeating Louis Pergaud, he and López met again, this time, with the world title on the line. Their rematch has also been shown by ESPN's classic network several times, it was the fight of the year for 1980, according to Ring Magazine, and is still written about by boxing aficionados.^[8] Saad Muhammad was hit with 20 unanswered blows in round eight, but he recovered and dropped López five times en route to a 14th-round knockout win. "This was my toughest fight," said Saad Muhammad of the fight, which some consider the closest López ever came to a world title.^[9]

He then went on to defeat Lottie Mwale, Vonzell Johnson, future world Super-Middleweight champion Murray Sutherland and Jerry Martin, all in defense of his world title, before losing to Dwight Muhammad Qawi in December 1981. In yet another fight that would later be shown on ESPN's classic network, Saad Muhammad lost his title when Qawi knocked him out in 10 rounds.

Saad Muhammad entered 1982 with a rematch against Qawi within his sights, and he defeated Pete McIntyre by a knockout in round two. The rematch between Saad Muhammad and Qawi came off in August, at Saad Muhammad's hometown of Philadelphia. The second time around, Qawi won by a knockout in round six.

From there on until 1992, Saad Muhammad fought sporadically and with limited success. He had been confronting vision problems, and in 1986, he declared himself in bankruptcy.

After he lost the rematch to Qawi fought in Australia, Spain, The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago.

MMA career

Saad Muhammad also took a turn in the forerunner of mixed martial arts in Japan, participating in the first UWF International (UWFi) event in 1991. Matched against Kiyoshi Tamura, Saad Muhammad talked a great deal at a lead-in press conference. He declined to say in which round he would knock Tamura out, but guaranteed a victory. Tamura submitted Saad Muhammad 34 seconds into the first round.

Retirement from boxing

Saad Muhammad retired from professional boxing with a record of 39 wins, 16 losses and 3 draws, with 29 wins by knockout.

In 1998, he became a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Boxing trainer

Muhammad trained up and coming fighters out of Atlantic City, New Jersey and worked closely with former Indian Olympic boxing team heavyweight Gurcharan "The Guru" Singh.^[10]

Retirement and death

In July 2010, Saad Muhammad was homeless and living in a shelter in Philadelphia.^[1] He later became involved in charity work in the Philadelphia area, some of which focused on raising money for the homeless.^[3] He died at a hospital in Philadelphia on May 25, 2014; his cause of death was unknown, though he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).^[11]

Muhammad was listed as number 24 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.^{[citation needed]}

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
58	Loss	39–16–3	Jason Waller	KO	2 (8)	21/03/1992	Colonial Theatre, Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
57	Loss	39–15–3	Andrew Maynard	TKO	3 (8)	29/10/1991	Convention Center Washington, D.C., U.S.
56	Loss	39–14–3	Mike Green	PTS	8	05/10/1991	Woodbridge, Virginia, U.S.
55	Win	39–13–3	Govoner Chavers	KO	1 (8)	15/08/1991	Plaza de Toros de Puerto Banus, Marbella, Andalucia, Spain
54	Loss	38–13–3	Anton Josipović	PTS	8	09/05/1991	Novi Sad, Serbia, Yugoslavia
53	Loss	38–12–3	Ed Mack	UD	8	26/02/1991	National Guard Armory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
52	Loss	38–11–3	Markus Bott	TKO	3 (8)	16/02/1990	Sporthalle, Wandsbek, Germany
51	Draw	38–10–3	Kevin Wagstaff	PTS	8	24/10/1989	Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall, Queensland, Australia
50	Loss	38–10–2	Frankie Swindell	TKO	1 (8)	21/10/1988	Quality Inn Hotel, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
49	Win	38–9–2	Lee Harris	TKO	1 (8)	08/04/1988	The Showplace Arena, Mechanicsville, Virginia, U.S.
48	Win	37–9–2	Bobby Thomas	UD	10	04/12/1987	Millsap Community Center, Weirton, Virginia, U.S.
47	Win	36–9–2	James Coakley	KO	3 (10)	26/06/1987	Nassau, Bahamas
46	Loss	35–9–2	Pat Strachan	UD	10	30/01/1987	Nassau, Bahamas
45	Win	35–8–2	Tomas Polo Ruiz	UD	10	16/11/1986	Jean Pierre Sports Complex, Mucurapo, Trinidad and Tobago
44	Loss	34–8–2	Uriah Grant	UD	10	21/02/1986	Galt Ocean Mile Hotel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
43	Win	34–7–2	Chris Wells	TKO	6 (10)	10/01/1986	Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
42	Loss	33–7–2	Willie Edwards	TKO	11 (12)	11/02/1984	Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.	For NABF Light Heavyweight Title
41	Win	33–6–2	Larry Davis	TKO	10 (12)	09/09/1983	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
40	Loss	32–6–2	Eric Winbush	TKO	3 (12)	23/03/1983	Claridge Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
39	Loss	32–5–2	Dwight Muhammad Qawi	TKO	6 (15)	07/08/1982	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	For WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
38	Win	32–4–2	Pete McIntyre	TKO	2 (10)	17/04/1982	Harrah's Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
37	Loss	31–4–2	Dwight Muhammad Qawi	TKO	10 (15)	19/12/1981	Playboy Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Lost WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
36	Win	31–3–2	Jerry Martin	TKO	11 (15)	26/09/1981	Golden Nugget Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
35	Win	30–3–2	Murray Sutherland	KO	9 (15)	25/04/1981	Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
34	Win	29–3–2	Vonzell Johnson	TKO	11 (15)	28/02/1981	Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
33	Win	28–3–2	Lottie Mwale	KO	4 (15)	28/11/1980	Sports Arena, San Diego, California, U.S.	Retained WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
32	Win	27–3–2	Yaqui López	TKO	14 (15)	13/07/1980	Great Gorge Playboy Club, McAfee, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
31	Win	26–3–2	Louis Pergaud	TKO	5 (15)	11/05/1980	Halifax Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	Retained WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
30	Win	25–3–2	John Conteh	TKO	4 (15)	29/03/1980	Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
29	Win	24–3–2	John Conteh	UD	15	18/08/1979	Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained WBC light heavyweight title
28	Win	23–3–2	Marvin Johnson	TKO	8 (15)	22/04/1979	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.	Won WBC light heavyweight title
27	Win	22–3–2	Yaqui López	TKO	11 (12)	24/10/1978	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	Retained NABF Light Heavyweight Title
26	Win	21–3–2	Fred Bright	TKO	8 (12)	16/08/1978	Branch Brook Ice Rink, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
25	Win	20–3–2	Dale Grant	TKO	5 (12)	19/06/1978	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
24	Win	19–3–2	Richie Kates	TKO	6 (12)	10/02/1978	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	Retained NABF Light Heavyweight Title
23	Win	18–3–2	Dave Lee Royster	UD	10	01/11/1977	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
22	Win	17–3–2	Billy Douglas	TKO	6 (12)	17/09/1977	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	NABF Light Heavyweight Title.
21	Win	16–3–2	Marvin Johnson	TKO	12 (12)	26/07/1977	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	Won NABF Light Heavyweight Title
20	Win	15–3–2	Ed Turner	KO	6 (10)	23/06/1977	Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
19	Win	14–3–2	Joe Maye	PTS	10	21/04/1977	Fournier Hall, Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
18	Loss	13–3–2	Eddie Mustafa Muhammad	SD	10	11/03/1977	Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
17	Draw	13–2–2	Mate Parlov	PTS	10	03/12/1976	Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
16	Loss	13–2–1	Marvin Camel	MD	10	23/10/1976	Adams Field House, Missoula, Montana, U.S.
15	Win	13–1–1	Bobby Walker	TKO	4 (10)	15/09/1976	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
14	Win	12–1–1	Marvin Camel	SD	10	17/07/1976	Stockton, California, U.S.
13	Win	11–1–1	Mate Parlov	PTS	8	21/05/1976	Palasport di San Siro, Milan, Lombardia, Italy
12	Win	10–1–1	Harold Carter	PTS	10	13/02/1976	Painters Mill Theatre, Owings Mills, Maryland, U.S.
11	Draw	9–1–1	Wayne McGee	PTS	6	21/10/1975	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
10	Win	9–1	Roosevelt Brown	TKO	4 (10)	24/07/1975	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
9	Win	8–1	Vandell Woods	KO	6 (10)	25/02/1975	The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
8	Loss	7–1	Wayne McGee	PTS	6	10/12/1974	The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
7	Win	7–0	Joe Middleton	TKO	2 (10)	22/10/1974	Roller Rink, Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
6	Win	6–0	Lloyd Richardson	TKO	4 (10)	10/09/1974	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Joe Jones	KO	3 (10)	15/07/1974	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
4	Win	4–0	Joe Middleton	KO	5 (10)	22/05/1974	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Roy Ingram	PTS	4	11/03/1974	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Mukeba Apolosa	PTS	4	25/02/1974	Palais des Sports, Paris, France
1	Win	1–0	Billy Early	TKO	2 (4)	14/01/1974	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.