Qawi Staying at 175?

[JMyersDTN]

This is a question for you old-school boxing fans. I just watched Qawi- Leon Spinks and was wondering what Qawi might've been able to do if he'd stayed at 175 instead of going up to cruiserweight. In the Spinks fight, there was no feeling-out period. They just started winging it when the bell rang and didn't stop until the fight was stopped.
Qawi always was short for a cruiserweight (listed at 5-7, but may have really been 5-6, I think) and as I was watching the fight, I kept thinking that as good as he was for a cruiserweight, Qawi might've had an even better career if he'd stayed at 175. Any thoughts?

 

[BobbyBrez]

I think he would have done really well at 175 over his later career. The Evander fight coupled with the Foreman fight showed how small he was in comparison to his competition. He fought way too long, but yea, he would have been average sized at 175 and was tiny at 185-200.

 

[JMyersDTN]

I agree. I think if he'd stayed at 175, he would've possibly won some more world titles.

 

[Sharkey]

I agree. I think if he'd stayed at 175, he would've possibly won some more world titles.

He had a chance to win more titles at light heavy as he had a scheduled rematch with Michael Spinks all set to go (their first fight was probably the biggest fight of that year in significance, and pretty much even money going in), and I think that was suppose to happen around the fall of 1984. Braxton ended up pulling out of the fight at the last minute though, claiming a shoulder injury, but that was never proven because he never had the shoulder injury verified by the commission doctor. As a result, there was much controversy (rumours of suspension, losing light heavyweight rankings, etc.) about if he even had a shoulder injury, and some had the theory that he just couldn't comfortably make the 175 limit anymore.

Had things been different and he had stayed at 175, he would have found the same thing that Spinks ended up moving up for, and that was pretty much a complete lack of competition, as the division was in the midst of going through quite the drop off in talent from the early 80's to the mid 80's.

Regardless though, Braxton may now be best known for his performance at cruiser in that great fight against Holyfield, but he made his name at 175, and most of his accomplishments/best wins/performances took place at that weight.

 

[BobbyBrez]

It's good to have you back.

 

[JMyersDTN]

Thanks for the opinions, guys. I appreciate the insight.

 

[Sharkey]

It's good to have you back.

Thanks buddy.