Dwight Muhammad Qawi Vs George Foreman: When an Unstoppable Force Meets an Immovable Object

By Chris “Man of Few Words” Benedict

Some are born clutching a silver spoon. Others still emerge from the womb with an axe to grind. The former can never be alleged of either Dwight Muhammad Qawi or George Foreman, both of whose more youthful incarnations anyway, fit into the latter category very nicely. Both were bitter, angry young men resolute in their tenacity to somehow overcome the seemingly insurmountable odds set against them by the invisible hand which tips the scales in its own favor, authoring our destinies while anticipating little or no resistance and defiance. A society which presupposes and awaits adherence to the constructs of manifest destiny does not know quite what to do with those individuals who choose to blaze their own trails or, as Thoreau once said, “not keep pace with his companions” other than obstruct their paths at every conceivable turn and simply hope that one such tripping hazard eventually hobbles them to the point of capitulation.

The circa-1988 versions of Qawi and Foreman may have been, at the core of their beings, similar ideologically to their past selves. Physically and-it goes without saying-chronologically, the question remained how well equipped they were to retread roads which long ago ceased to be less taken. After all, it is not a matter open to dispute that there is no upturning or refilling the hourglass and that machinery, once damaged, can never again be reliably restored to factory settings.

Shrugging off the healthy uncertainty of fight fans and sportswriters surrounding the prospect of his matchup against George Foreman, which fell somewhere between ritualistic interest and freak show curiosity, Dwight Qawi offered his humble opinion that “Skeptics are what make great events great.” While his sentiment is admirable, Qawi’s mention of greatness is optimistic at best, seeing as though he had what was left of his pummeled out of him by Evander Holyfield in their rematch three months before. At 222 pounds, Dwight was bloated by both food and drink as he despaired over personal misfortunes as well as the downturn in his prizefighting career which is a brutal realization that is typically met-and his was no exception-with obstinate denial.
The fearsome George Foreman extinguished the wildfire that was Smokin’ Joe (Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!), blew away George Chuvalo and Ken Norton, survived a colossal slugfest with Ron Lyle and had lost only twice, roped into being Ali’s dope in Zaire (Ali boma ye! Ali boma ye!) and dropping a unanimous decision to Jimmy Young in Puerto Rico after which he experienced a spiritual epiphany in his locker room and walked away from the ring for ten years. George had returned to put permanent dents in all seven tomato cans he faced to that point of his comeback, knocking out the likes of Steve Zouski, Bobby Crabtree, and Rocky Sekorski.

As for the cynicism referenced by Qawi above, it would be repaid in kind on March 19, 1988 with a bewildering and at times bizarre spectacle that left pre-existing questions unanswered and a few new ones posed at no extra charge.

“That was a big night for me, to be hosting a card with one of the biggest heavyweight champions of all time, Mr. George Foreman,” Michael Nunn wrote in an email to me. Nunn was making the second defense of his NABF middleweight title at Caesars Palace against Curtis Parker (a substitute for Doug DeWitt) as the co-feature on the Top Rank event billed as “Battle of the Champions”. Also on the card were NABF heavyweight champion Orlin Norris taking on Renaldo Snipes and Tony Fulilangi challenging NABF cruiserweight belt-holder Bert Cooper. “I remember Mr. Foreman coming to the press conference with his Bible in hand and thanking Mr. Bob Arum for giving him the chance to fight at the Palace,” Michael continued. “It was also big on my behalf fighting on the same card with a legend. My family really loved it because we all grew up watching Big George fight, so me and him headlining a card in Vegas was big time.”

If the “Second To” Nunn matchup against Curtis Parker was the appetizer to the main course with Foreman and Qawi seated at opposing heads of the table, Michael wasted little time clearing the place settings, serving up a second-round knockout. “Now that you bring it up, I remember it like it was yesterday,” Nunn reminisced. “When I was winning the Gold Gloves title in Iowa as a young teenager I used to watch Mr. Parker fight all the time and when I turned pro I was fighting him to see who was gonna be the next challenger for Frank Tate for the world middleweight championship. Wow, it was big and Parker was always rough and tough. Your Philly fighter, they always brought the fight to you. I know that I would not have to go looking for Mr. Parker, he was right in my chest from the start. My trainer Joe Goosen had trained me throughout camp to keep the jab in his face and to shoot the uppercut because of the way Mr. Parker fought, he would run right into the punch and when he did he was hit by a Mack truck. That shot would have knocked out a horse, great punch. I was glad that Mr. Parker was alright. One of my best knockouts, that and the one with Sumbu Kalambay. A lot of work went into that Parker bout because we were in Las Vegas and me and my team wanted to show the world that we were ready for the big stage. A wonderful night, one of my best.”

Legendary trainer turned broadcaster Gil Clancy was in the Foreman corner for the Jimmy Young fight and had said dismissively of George’s religious sensation, “It was hot as hell in the ring. He was hallucinating from dehydration.” In addition to sitting behind the microphone to call the Qawi fight for a pay-per-view audience, Clancy was assigned to interview the 39 year-old Foreman for the lead-in segment. The once and future heavyweight champion sheepishly admitted that “I don’t like fighting tough guys (like Qawi), but it just so happens that as you keep moving around, the promoters have a lot to do with who they match you with.” George went on to say that “I think I’m ready for these kinds of fights. I hope to keep on fighting as often as once or twice per month and eventually I’d like to clean up the heavyweight division and that includes the heavyweight champion of the world.”

If Dwight Qawi-who was built and fought like George’s old nemesis Joe Frazier-was being viewed by the Foreman camp as a litmus test for Mike Tyson, the “Camden Buzzsaw”, now 35 and a former world champion at light-heavyweight and cruiserweight with aspirations dwelling in the shadowy borderland between wishful thinking and willful self-deception of one day wearing the heavyweight crown, offered up a pre-fight pretense of breezy contentment. “I like being the underdog. I wouldn’t want it no other way, it fuels my fire. I want him to have all the confidence in the world.”

Big George not only appeared initially confident but boasted of having concocted a battle plan built upon having sparred with a middleweight back home in Houston to quicken his activity and utilize his jab to effectively create distance. For whatever reason, it was a game plan Foreman abandoned once in the ring at Caesars. Conversely, Qawi erupted from his corner and nailed George with a strong right cross mere seconds into the fight. Able to walk forward unhindered, Dwight threw potent combinations some of which were deflected by the turtle-shell posture Foreman had adopted from defensive wizard Archie Moore (who once again looked on from George’s corner), though many penetrated his guard and landed cleanly.
Gil Clancy pondered the utter abandonment of Foreman’s jab with broadcast partner Al Bernstein, both of whom were left to only guess at why George was instead insistent upon hurling lazy, lumbering right uppercuts that a blind man could have seen coming and, thirty-plus excess pounds notwithstanding, Qawi was able to maneuver away from with a seeming lack of effort, still bobbing and weaving although the pendulum now swung more slowly than in days gone by, but enough to throw Foreman’s rhythm completely off-key. Dwight purposely backed himself into a corner, baiting Foreman to dutifully follow and smacked him with a right hand for George’s trouble. Looking temporarily like the Braxton or Qawi of old, he then lured George to center ring where he popped off a head-snapping combination.

Foreman began working Qawi’s body in the second round, landing thunderous shots to the shoulders and outer ribcage, and finally let his hands go with a series of combinations which rattled Dwight badly enough for him to duck between the ropes so that referee Carlos Padilla was forced to halt Foreman’s forward progress. Qawi recovered quickly and crashed home two stunning left hooks followed by a left/right combination which stopped Big George in his tracks.

In the third round, Foreman loaded up with a wildly looping right hand which caught Qawi in the kidneys and appeared to aid Dwight’s delayed-reaction descent to the canvas by pushing the back of his head, evidenced by Qawi rolling on the ring apron, holding his head, and Padilla not initiating a count over the fallen fighter. Foreman landed with a left lead then the two combatants traded blows toe-to-toe before George ushered Qawi into a corner from which Dwight punched himself out, a trademark left hook forcing Foreman to gaze up for a fraction of a second at the overhead arena lights.

Carlos Padilla issued a warning to Foreman for backhanding in the fourth, which George would continue to do regardless and would make a similar habit of repeatedly shoving Qawi despite a first round reprimand. Dwight, who had earned a rebuke from Padilla himself for low blows, popped up from a crouch with an explosive left/right/left flurry and countered a seemingly slow-motion Foreman right-hand feeler by ripping a right uppercut followed by a left hook. While George looked back to his corner from time to time in search of some explanation as to what was transpiring, Qawi was content to personify the conundrum a visibly frustrated Foreman appeared unable to solve, building confidence and piling up points, waving a gloved fist mockingly in George’s face after shaking off a right cross and detonating yet another combination upon Foreman’s skull by way of rebuttal.

It took until the sixth round for Big George to begin punching more than pushing, finally finding the target for a left uppercut which looked as though it was going to legitimately floor Qawi for the first time that night. Halfway to the canvas, however, Dwight revealed that he had merely been playing possum by rocketing upward and catching Foreman off-guard and off-balance with the element of surprise, not to mention a right hook and a left trailing behind it that just grazed George’s temple. The advantage gained by Qawi’s ruse was a brief one. Foreman shook him with a short right and left hook that backed Qawi from center ring into a seated posture on the third rope. While the rules clearly state that the referee is to score a knockdown if a boxer in danger of hitting the deck is held aloft only by the support of the ring strands, Carlos Padilla again failed to assert himself and allowed Dwight to slingshot himself back into the action without interruption.

The flesh beneath Foreman’s left eye was being tended to with an endswell as he stood in his corner before the seventh round, the furthest he had been extended yet in his boxing rebirth. As for his adversary, whose pre-fight strategy consisted of dragging George into deep waters where he would struggle to break the surface, it would instead be Qawi looking for a life preserver. Foreman drove home five consecutive left jabs and a succession of punishing combinations but his head-hunting was less effective than a hard left which dug deep into Dwight’s midsection and inflicted the most telling damage. The cumulative effects were too much for Dwight to take and he simply walked away and leaned on the top ring rope, indicating to both Carlos Padilla and a confounded George Foreman that he had no more fight left in him.

Although Dwight Qawi’s submission does not engender nearly as much antipathy as Roberto Duran’s “No Mas” surrender to Sugar Ray Leonard, which horrified his fans and fellow Panamanians who regarded it as an act of shameless treachery and cowardice, the sad and sudden shattering of a childhood idol I had long placed on a pedestal is still personally tough for me to watch.
“I was really devastated by his energy, his ability to recover from punches,” said Foreman of Dwight Qawi to Al Bernstein inside the ring. “Let’s face it, shorter guys are really unorthodox for boxers. The shorter they are, the harder it is to get off orthodox jabs on him. He’s a fine man, a brave individual.”

The media was picking away at Qawi for an explanation during the post-fight press conference and were underwhelmed at having excavated only this bauble. “I did my best but I had nothing left. I really didn’t. I know I didn’t. My heart said to continue, but I got hit flush. I was tired.” Dwight, however, also submitted this sentiment to his detractors: “If there had been a tragedy here tonight, people would have been singing another tune. I’m just glad to be alive.” Make of this statement whatever you will, but it coincides with the memories of that night provided by Foreman in his autobiography By George.

“Before the fight,” Foreman writes, “I dreamed that I told him, ‘Man, you’re going to get killed.’ In the real ring, he ducked and dodged, tried to carry the fight into the late rounds. It was like he’d watched a tape of the Ali fight. But he was no Ali and I wasn’t my 1974 model. Afterward, in the locker room, he told my brother Roy, ‘Man, I saw death. I wasn’t going to die in that ring. That was death.’”

Dwight Qawi, remember, had not recovered physically or emotionally from the embarrassing beating suffered at the hands of Evander Holyfield three months prior. “I took him (Foreman) on two and a half weeks’ notice,” he told Mark Malinowski of The Examiner in a 2013 interview. “Bob Arum was bringing George back, getting him ready for Tyson at the time. When they called with $50,000, I took it. I was overweight, embarrassed,” Qawi continued. “I was depressed when they called me. I wasn’t ready to go back in the ring real quick. So when they called me, I was in the middle of everything, not sure what to do.” Dwight lamented that, in light of the success he was able to achieve against Big George despite those encumbrances, he probably would have won “if I had more energy and I was more courageous and more imaginative.”

“He’s not as sharp as he could be,” Bob Arum had said of Foreman’s performance. “He needs some intensive sparring to sharpen himself.” George’s response was that “It didn’t discourage me at all. I’m not going for one, two, or three-round knockouts. I’m an old man.” The old man was still six and a half years away from realizing his impossible dream, having first failed in valiant championship bids against Evander Holyfield and Tommy Morrison before making heavyweight history at the age of 45 by shocking WBA and IBF lineal title-holder Michael Moorer (and the world) with a 10th round knockout while wearing the same trunks he had on while rumbling in the jungle with Muhammad Ali twenty years before. Befitting boxing’s genteel elder statesman and clown prince, who had shown up for the media event prior to the Holyfield fight carrying a tray of cheeseburgers, 48 year-old George began alternating his robe and gloves with an apron and spatula while peddling his name-brand Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machines during infomercials and guest appearances on home shopping channels, calling it quits for good at 76-5 (68 KOs) after losing a dubious decision and the lineal title (having been stripped of the WBA and IBF portions) to Shannon Briggs in 1997.

Picking up the WBC Continental Americas Cruiserweight title twice along the way, Dwight Qawi would follow Foreman into retirement one year later nearly to the day, losing an unceremonious eight-round decision to Tony LaRosa on November 25, 1998 with a twenty-year career record of 41-11-1 (25 KOs) and, unlike Big George, no endorsement deals or commentating gigs in the offing.
“My biggest problem was an inability to live right outside the ring,” recalled Qawi in hindsight for the Philadelphia Daily News with regard to the Foreman fight. “I couldn’t live with myself the way I was. I knew I had so much left to give. What I’ve lost through the years physically, I think I’ve gained mentally. The mind is a beautiful thing.”

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