Matthew Saad Muhammad was an American professional boxer who was the WBC Light Heavyweight

Matthew Saad Muhammad (born Maxwell Antonio Loach) 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, 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 Muhammad was 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.

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.

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.

LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Saad_Muhammad

TAGS: Matthew Saad Muhammad, World Boxing Council champions, World light-heavyweight boxing champions, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia), Deaths from motor neuron disease, Sportspeople with a vision impairment, African American adoptees, African-American former Christians, African-American Muslims, Converts to Islam, Boxers from Philadelphia, African-American boxers, American male boxers

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