Murad Muhammad is an American boxingpromoter, the owner of the company M & M Sports.
Murad’s introduction to boxing was through traveling the world with Muhammad Ali. He was only 16 then and for 10 years, he was Ali’s personal security man.
He became the first African-American to receive a promoter’s license in the State of New Jersey in the mid 1970s. Muhammad was the first promoter to have a professional boxing show held and televised behind prison walls when HBO televised a fight out of Rahway State Prison between prisoner and ranked fighter, James Scott, against contender, Eddie ”The Flame” Gregory later known as Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. He is also credited with bringing the first Heavyweight Championship bout featuring Larry Holmes vs. Scott Frank, to New Jersey in 50 years. He had the highest audience share for a network boxing event on NBC with Larry Holmes vs. Marvis Frazier (49% show prime time)
His remaining name fighter was a 43-year-old Evander Holyfield who he promoted in his comeback attempt but took a bath in his fight against Fres Oquendo. Holyfield was paid $2 million for the Oquendo fight which the live gate in the range of $400,000 and meager PPV sales couldn't refinance.
Lennox Claudius Lewis is a former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and remains the last heavyweight to hold the undisputed championship. Holding dual British and Canadian citizenship, Lewis represented Canada as an amateur at the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division after defeating Riddick Bowe in the final.
HBO World Championship Boxing is an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973 with a fight that saw George Foreman defeat Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica.
Robert Arum is an American lawyer, boxing promoter and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. He also worked for the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York in the tax division during his legal career before moving into boxing promotion.
The World Boxing Council (WBC) is one of four major organizations which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO). Many historically high-profile bouts have been sanctioned by the organization with various notable fighters having been recognised as WBC world champions. All four organizations recognise the legitimacy of each other and each have interwoven histories dating back several decades.
Larry Holmes is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the Easton Assassin.
Donald King is an American former boxing promoter known for his involvement in historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him.
Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and remains the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes in the three belt era. Nicknamed "the Real Deal", Holyfield is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992, the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994, the WBA title a third time from 1996 to 1999; the IBF title a third time from 1997 to 1999 and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.
Leon Spinks was an American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a split decision, in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Spinks was later stripped of the WBC title for facing Ali in an unapproved rematch seven months later, which he lost by a unanimous decision.
Boxing in the 1980s was filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. Boxing in the 1980s was shaped by many different situations, such as the continuous corporate battles between the different world sanctioning organizations, the void left by Muhammad Ali as the sport's ambassador and consequent search for a new boxing hero, the continuous presence of Don King as the sport's most famous promoter, the surge of rival promoters as Bob Arum, Butch Lewis and Murad Muhammad, and major rule changes. In 1986, Mike Tyson emerged as a fresh new face in the heavyweight division, which had seen a decline in champion quality level after Ali's retirement and, later on, after longtime WBC ruler Larry Holmes' prime. In addition, the IBF and WBO began operating.
Dwight Muhammad Qawi is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. He was a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC and Ring magazine light heavyweight titles from 1981 to 1983, and the WBA cruiserweight title from 1985 to 1986. Qawi was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.
Richard Green was a professional boxing referee. He officiated several major bouts, such as Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes in 1980. He was the referee for the lightweight world title fight between defending champion Ray Mancini and challenger Duk Koo Kim, which caused Kim's death four days after the fight ended. Green took his own life several months later.
Eddie Futch was an American boxing trainer. Among the fighters he trained are Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick, four of the five men to defeat Muhammad Ali. Futch also trained Riddick Bowe, Wayne McCullough and Montell Griffin when they handed future Hall of Fame fighters Evander Holyfield and Roy Jones Jr. their first professional defeats. In Baltimore, Maryland, the Futch Gym boxing gymnasium is named after the trainer. Eddie Futch married Eva Marlene Futch March 21,1996 until his death. Futch often called her "The love of his life."
Renaldo Snipes is an American former boxer, best known for his title championship bout with Larry Holmes.
Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Richie Giachetti was an American boxing trainer who worked with a number of world champions including Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes, billed as "Heavyweight History", was a professional boxing match contested on January 22, 1988, for the WBA, WBC and IBF Heavyweight Championships.
Mike Tyson vs. Donovan Ruddock II, billed as "The Rematch", was a professional boxing match contested on June 28, 1991. It was the second time the two fighters fought that year, as their first bout in March was mired in controversy.
Larry Holmes vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as "The Last Hurrah", was a professional boxing bout contested on October 2, 1980 in Las Vegas for the WBC Heavyweight Championship. The fight was estimated to have been watched by a record 2billion viewers worldwide.
Boxing on ABC refers to a series of boxing events that have been televised on the American Broadcasting Company. Many of these events aired under the Wide World of Sports banner which began on April 11, 1964 when challenger Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, defeated champion Sonny Liston in the seventh round. ABC's final boxing card occurred on June 17, 2000.
Anthony "Tony" Perez is an American boxing referee and judge of Puerto Rican descent. During his career, he refereed many major boxing fights and participated in a number of boxing related documentaries.
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