Evander Holyfield had turned professional in November of 1984 after the summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and quickly moved into the cruiserweight division.
Two years laterf, he challenged Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the WBA crown, in only his twelfth professional bout.
The fight was held in his hometown of Atlanta at the Omni, and was broadcast live on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. At the time, I was in Long Beach, California in an airline training class, and watched it in my hotel room. I was never a Qawi fan, so it was easy to root for the young challenger Holyfield.
The 15 round fight was a war. The action was back and forth, with both men giving as well as taking. The cards were pretty even in my book halfway through the bout, but the younger Holyfield started to show his strength and ability down the stretch. He could box as well as punch, and you see his potential greatness starting to shine.
The decision was a split decision win for Evander, but I personally saw it as unanimous. It certainly wasn’t easy, because Qawi was tough, but the young fighter from Atlanta was the first of the 1984 Olympic team to win a world title.
Evander would later admit how fatigued he had gotten, but fought through it and showed his grit. He lost a supposed fifteen pounds during the bruising battle, but was the new WBA cruiserweight champion of the world. I saw his future as only bright.
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ON SPOTIFY AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
