Matthew Saad Muhammad facts for kids

Matthew Saad Muhammad (born Maxwell Antonio Loach; June 16, 1954 – May 25, 2014) was a famous American professional boxer. He was the world champion in the Light Heavyweight division for two and a half years. People knew him for his exciting fighting style and amazing comebacks.

Early Life and Nickname

Matthew Saad Muhammad had a tough start in life. His mother passed away when he was a baby. He and his older brother went to live with an aunt. When Matthew was five, his aunt could not take care of both boys. She told his brother to leave him somewhere. His brother took him to Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia and then ran away.

Catholic Social Services found Matthew and took him in. The nuns there gave him the name Matthew Franklin. They named him after Saint Matthew and the parkway where he was found. Matthew lived in foster care until a kind couple adopted him. They raised him as their own son.

Later, Matthew became very popular with boxing fans. This was in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He had a very action-packed way of fighting. He was known for being able to take many punches. Then, he would make incredible comebacks in his fights. Because of this, people called him Miracle Matthew.

Matthew Saad Muhammad was also one of several world light heavyweight champions who became Muslim. They changed their names during his time as a boxer. He said that Muhammad Ali inspired him to become Muslim.

Starting His Boxing Journey

Matthew Saad Muhammad did not have a long amateur boxing career. He had only 20 amateur fights. In 1973, he won the Trenton (New Jersey) Golden Gloves. He became a professional boxer the next year.

Becoming a Champion Boxer

Saad Muhammad started his professional boxing career in 1974. He won his first fight by knockout in the second round. He won seven more fights that year. Then, he had his first loss to Wayne McGee.

In 1975, he fought McGee again, and it was a draw. In 1976, he had two fights each with future world champions Marvin Camel and Mate Parlov. He beat Parlov in Italy and then beat Camel. However, he lost the rematch against Camel. His second fight with Parlov ended in a draw.

Winning the World Title

In 1977, Saad Muhammad lost to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. But then, he beat future three-time world champion Marvin Johnson. He won by knockout in the 12th round. This made him the United States Light-Heavyweight champion. It was his first fight shown on national television.

In 1978, he won all four of his fights. He successfully defended his title against Richie Kates and Yaqui López. His first fight with López was a classic. Saad Muhammad survived many punches. He then won by knockout in the 11th round.

In 1979, Marvin Johnson became the world champion. Saad Muhammad fought Johnson again for the WBC world light heavyweight title. This fight was another "Saad Muhammad classic." He won with an eight-round knockout. Soon after, he became Muslim and changed his name to Matthew Saad Muhammad.

Defending His Title

In his first title defense, Saad Muhammad fought former world champion John Conteh. He won the fight, but a rematch was ordered. This was because his team used an illegal substance to stop a cut from bleeding. In the second fight, Muhammad won by knockout in the fourth round. He kept his world title.

He then fought Yaqui López again, with the world title on the line. This rematch was named the "fight of the year" for 1980. Saad Muhammad was hit many times in the eighth round. But he recovered and knocked López down five times. He won by knockout in the 14th round. He said this was his toughest fight.

He continued to defend his world title against Lottie Mwale, Vonzell Johnson, Murray Sutherland, and Jerry Martin. He finally lost his title to Dwight Muhammad Qawi in December 1981. Qawi knocked him out in 10 rounds.

Later Career and Retirement

In 1982, Saad Muhammad had a rematch with Qawi in Philadelphia. Qawi won again by knockout in the sixth round. After this, Saad Muhammad fought less often and had less success. He started having problems with his eyesight. In 1986, he declared that he had no money left.

He fought in different countries like Australia, Spain, The Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago.

A Try at Mixed Martial Arts

Matthew Saad Muhammad even tried a different type of fighting called mixed martial arts (MMA) in Japan. This was before MMA became very popular. In 1991, he fought Kiyoshi Tamura. Saad Muhammad was very confident before the fight. But Tamura won by making Saad Muhammad give up in just 34 seconds of the first round.

Life After Boxing

Matthew Saad Muhammad officially stopped professional boxing with a record of 39 wins, 16 losses, and 3 draws. He won 29 of his fights by knockout.

In 1998, he was honored by being added to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Helping New Boxers

After his fighting career, Muhammad became a boxing trainer. He helped young fighters in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He worked closely with Gurcharan "The Guru" Singh, who was a heavyweight boxer from the Indian Olympic team.

Later Life and Legacy

In July 2010, Matthew Saad Muhammad faced difficult times and was living in a shelter in Philadelphia. Later, he started doing charity work in the Philadelphia area. Some of his work focused on helping people who were homeless.

He passed away at a hospital in Philadelphia on May 25, 2014. The cause of his death was not fully known, but he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Ring Magazine, a famous boxing magazine, listed Muhammad as number 24 on their list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time.

Images for kids

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  Grave of boxer Matthew Saad Muhammad at Ivy Hill Cemetery

See also

• List of world light-heavyweight boxing champions