Matthew Saad Muhammad Fight Recommendations?

Just to be clear, you’re asking for both a rating from ‘Pretty good’ to ‘ATG’ against each fight and then a rating out of 10 or the rating from ‘Pretty good’ to ‘ATG’ and an ordered list from 1 to 10?

 

Your rating system hurt my head a bit so I had to come up with a version of it. ‘Pretty good’ seems almost like saying ‘Average’ and I think Saad has at least 10 fights that can be rated as ‘Good’ or above (including your example of Saad-Kates) so this is how I’ve come up with my scoring based on yours:


ATG (a top 10 fight all time) = 10/10
Great = 9/10
Very Good = 7-8/10
Good = 6/10
Pretty good (Average) = 5/10

ATG: Saad-Lopez 2
This a top 10 fight of all time in my view (it’s in my own top 5 at no. 3)

Great: Saad-Johnson 1 and 2
Not quite top 10 all-time but up in the upper echelons of great fights.

Very good:

• Saad-Kates
• Saad-Lopez 1
• Saad-Conteh 1

Good:

• Saad-Vonzell Johnson
• Saad-Jerry Martin
• Qawi-Saad 1

I think I missed the Willie Edwards fight and the Murray Sutherland one I remember as being no more than average.

 

I think this list is right on the money, although maybe I'd put Muhammad/Kates. A bit higher but overall solid list

 

I have always been fond of the fights between Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Marvin Johnson in April 1979, what a war.

 

Richie Kates and Murray Sutherland are edge of the seat jobs. High quality fights too, not just tear ups. The first John Conteh fight, although it still frustrates me, John was so close to winning.
Jerry "The Bull" Martin is a war. I agree with the previous poster in that Saad had gone back a fair way by then.

 

I sometimes think that the Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Jerry The Bull Martin title bout as a pre curser to Saad's loss to Dwight Muhammad Qwai in his next bout.

 

Blimey yes ! Quawi was like Martin on fast forward wasn't he ? That was the blueprint.

 

Conteh II is a horrible fight. He accepted the rematch but he appeared resigned from the opening bell and IIRC one of the times he went down without getting hit, just kind of cowered and found a soft spot when Saad missed him.

 

Qwai sure was, he was stuck in the Drive mode.

 

Ha ha, yeah ! Look out, here he comes !

 

I've spoken to John about that. He'd been partying in London and had got on the Charlie thing. He'd dried out and got clean but only in the six weeks before the fight. He was literally having flashbacks during the bout. He really can't remember anything of the actual fight, just things like feeling the ropes on his back.
He went bananas in the hotel after. His wife, (Who he subsequently remarried), left him. He was a total mess. He hasn't touched a drink in over 35 years and was best mates with Chris Finnegan before Chris died. He was, basically, his chauffer.
The word inspirational is chucked about a fair bit these days but John really is that. Poor Saad died as he grew up. Penniless in the hands of the Clergy.

 

Yeah, I think Saad showed signs of decline in that fight too and the stoppage by early 80s standards was somewhat generous to him.