RIP Matthew Saad Muhammad

From ALS apparently.

This is a bit of a shocker to me. I had no idea he was even sick. I'd see him at the Boxing Hall of Fame every year, and he seemed like one of the guys who kept himself in tip top shape. Other ex-fighters would even comment, he looked like he could get back in the ring if he wanted.

Always a cordial guy. He was the first guy whose fight tapes I sought out when I got back into watching boxing in the late 90's. He wasn't the most defensively responsible or skilled guy in the world, but you could never say he was in a boring fight, win or lose.

I'm sure his fighting style had something to do with his rapid decline in the ring, and later, the Lou Gehrig's disease that took him.

 

rip, great fighter.

 

RIP A legendary warrior

 

RIP. Sad stuff. Saad was a badass.

 

Very sad. All time warrior and a damn good fighter in his prime. Rest easy champ.

 

One of my favorites... One of the most compelling fighters ever... Over a 4-5 year period, he fought exemplary comp in a series of fights that defy belief and he came out on top... One of the bravest fighters in history and a great puncher... His life started out hard... He was abandoned as a child and taken in by nuns in an orphanage ... He started out as something of a counterpuncher, but after debatable decisions against Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Marvin Camel and Mate Parlov went against him, he decided to start gunning for knockouts and went on an absolute tear, winning one amazing fight after another, walking through unimaginable punishment along the way... Eventually it drained him and fading and totally weight drained, he was easy pickings for Dwight Qawi and he crashed hard... A P4P type of fighter one minute, a journeyman the next... His post-boxing life wasn't easy either... He was homeless for awhile and then ALS... His legacy survives vividly on videotape and will hopefully be celebrated by boxing fans for years to come... RIP

 

A Saad day in boxing.

I don't know any boxing historian that doesn't respect the hell out of Matthew Saad Muhammad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcQ-f-pR3Wo

 

[video=youtube;HcQ-f-pR3Wo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcQ-f-pR3Wo[/video]

 

RIP.

 

RIP. I remember watching his fights on the Wide World of Sports and just being amazed. A true warrior and one of the toughest guys I've ever seen in the ring.