Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs James Scott

Dwight Braxton, later known as Dwight Muhammad Qawi, earned a unanimous 10-round decision over James Scott inside Rahway State Prison in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, on September 5, 1981. Braxton entered with a record of 14 victories, one defeat and one draw, while Scott stood at 19–1–1. The winner had been promised a challenge for Matthew Saad Muhammad’s World Boxing Council light-heavyweight championship, giving an unusual prison promotion direct importance in the world-title picture.

Scott had become one of boxing’s most discussed contenders by conducting much of his career while serving a lengthy sentence at Rahway. National television carried several of his prison contests, and he defeated Eddie Gregory, later Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Richie Kates, Jerry Celestine and Yaqui Lopez behind the walls. The WBA had once ranked him second before removing him because of his incarceration. He suffered his first professional defeat against Jerry Martin in May 1980, then returned after nearly 15 months to stop Dave Lee Royster only 26 days before meeting Braxton.

The challenger’s return to Rahway provided an uncommon element. Braxton had himself served five and a half years there for armed robbery and had learned much of his boxing in the prison programme. He and Scott had known one another as inmates and had sparred together. Now free and ranked among the leading light-heavyweights, the shorter Braxton returned as a professional opponent. Their exchanges before the contest had been hostile, but once the fight began, Braxton directed that aggression into a controlled, disciplined performance.

Scott began cautiously, moving backwards and attempting to use his advantage in height and reach. Braxton followed with his familiar crouching advance, moving his head as he came in and closing the distance without rushing directly onto Scott’s right hand. Near the end of the opening round, he reached Scott with a firm combination. In the second, Braxton repeatedly doubled his left jab, striking upwards despite being considerably shorter and disturbing Scott’s efforts to establish a settled rhythm.

Braxton increased the pressure in the third, trapping Scott against the ropes and working with both hands. Scott tried to show the punches hadn't troubled him by laughing at his opponent, but Braxton answered with a left-right combination that snapped his head back. Scott finally began advancing with greater purpose in the fourth and directed punches towards Braxton’s body. The shorter man remained difficult to locate cleanly, slipping beneath the return and countering with a left hook. When Scott was forced back to the ropes, Braxton again did the better work during the exchanges.

The inmates supporting Scott maintained a loud chant of “Raja,” the Muslim name by which he was known inside the prison, but Braxton continued to dictate the action. A sequence of three left hooks shook Scott and left him increasingly flat-footed. Instead of allowing the taller man to box at long range, Braxton kept himself just inside Scott’s jab, then emerged from his crouch with hooks and straight rights. Scott’s punches lacked their usual authority, and too many of his attempts were thrown while moving backwards.

Scott produced his best blow in the seventh, catching Braxton with a hard overhand right. It briefly encouraged the crowd and offered the possibility of a change in the contest, but Braxton was not disorganised. He resumed jabbing, attacked the body and forced Scott to counter without having his feet properly set. There were no knockdowns, and Scott was never in danger of being stopped, but he was being outworked and repeatedly beaten to the punch.

By the ninth, Braxton was putting a right cross behind nearly every left lead and added an uppercut when Scott attempted to close with him. Scott struck after the bell, and Braxton moved forward to retaliate before referee Larry Hazzard stepped between them and escorted the fighters apart. No point was deducted. At the start of the 10th, Braxton was impatient to resume and pushed past Hazzard after the compulsory touch of gloves. Scott missed with several wide punches, and when he tried to corner Braxton, the shorter man turned him and brought the fight back towards centre ring. Braxton finished with further combinations, leaving no reasonable doubt about the result.

Hazzard scored the contest 5–4–1 for Braxton, while judges Frank Brunette and Charley Spina each returned cards of 6–3–1. The margins appeared closer than Braxton’s general command of the fight, but all three officials agreed upon the winner. Scott accepted the verdict and indicated that Braxton deserved his promised championship opportunity. The defeat proved to be Scott’s final professional appearance. Three months later, Braxton stopped Saad Muhammad in the 10th round at Atlantic City to win the WBC light-heavyweight championship.

I remember being desperate to watch this fight because the background was unlike anything boxing had produced. Dwight Braxton, later Dwight Muhammad Qawi, was returning to Rahway State Prison as a free man to face James Scott, who remained behind bars. Both had been inmates there and had sparred together. For the prisoners watching, having a nationally televised contest and two leading light-heavyweights brought inside the walls must have been an extraordinary break from confinement.

The fight lived up to its billing. Scott had already beaten Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Richie Kates and Yaqui Lopez at Rahway, so this was no manufactured prison attraction. He was a genuine contender. But Braxton was sharper, fitter and tactically better. Despite giving away height, he doubled his jab, slipped inside Scott’s reach and made him fight while moving backwards. That is difficult for any tall boxer, especially one who needs his feet planted to punch properly.

Scott had moments, particularly with an overhand right in the seventh, but Braxton controlled the contest. The official cards were fairly close, though Braxton won more clearly than they suggested. He bullied the larger man without becoming reckless and showed the head movement, pressure and compact combinations that would later define Qawi.

Three months afterwards, Braxton stopped Matthew Saad Muhammad to become world champion. Watching him deal with Scott, you could already see that he belonged at that level.