Matthew Saad Muhammad: From Abandoned Child on the Parkway to 'Miracle Matthew,' WBC Light Heavyweight Champion

He began life as a five-year-old left alone on a Philadelphia boulevard and ended it as a Hall of Famer who had slept in a homeless shelter. In between, Matthew Saad Muhammad held the WBC light heavyweight title from 1979 to 1981 and built a reputation as the sport's great escape artist, a fighter who seemed to need to be nearly beaten before he could win.

Left on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway

He was born Maxwell Antonio Loach in Philadelphia on June 16, 1954. According to his Wikipedia biography, his mother died when he was a baby, and he and an older brother were sent to live with an aunt. When the boy was five, the aunt decided she could not support both children. The brother took the younger boy to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the broad avenue that runs toward the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and ran off.

Years later, writing for a newspaper produced by a homeless shelter, he described a relative leading him into an unfamiliar part of the city and then disappearing, as WHYY reported. The child was found asleep on church steps and placed with Catholic Social Services. The nuns who took him in chose his new name from two sources: Matthew from the Gospel, Franklin from the parkway where he had been found. He moved through foster care before a Philadelphia couple adopted him.

Twenty Amateur Bouts and a Hard Apprenticeship, 1973-1976

Matthew Franklin had a brief amateur career of roughly 20 bouts and won the Trenton Golden Gloves in New Jersey in 1973. He turned professional in 1974, stopping Billy Early in the second round of his debut and adding seven more wins that year before Wayne McGee outpointed him over six rounds. A rematch with McGee in 1975 ended in a draw.

His matchmaking was anything but gentle. In 1976 he fought two future world champions twice each. He beat Mate Parlov on points in Milan, then drew with him in a return in Italy. Against Marvin Camel he won a ten-round decision and then lost the rematch by the same distance. He opened 1977 with a defeat to Eddie Gregory, the man later known as Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.

The First War With Marvin Johnson and Yaqui López, 1977-1978

The fight that made his name came in 1977 against Marvin Johnson, a hard-hitting southpaw from Indianapolis. In what Wikipedia describes as his first nationally televised bout, Franklin stopped Johnson in the 12th round. Wikipedia lists the belt as the United States light heavyweight title, while the Associated Press obituary, as carried by WTOP and WHYY, called it the North American Boxing Federation crown and noted that it came in his 21st professional fight.

In 1978 he went four-for-four, defending against Richie Kates and then against Álvaro "Yaqui" López of Stockton, California. López pressed him relentlessly, and Franklin weathered the storm before stopping the challenger in the 11th round. It was the first of two meetings between them, and the second would be remembered as one of the best light heavyweight fights ever staged.

Indianapolis, 1979: A World Title and a New Name

By 1979 Johnson had won the WBC title by beating Parlov, and the rematch with Franklin was set for April 22 in Johnson's home city of Indianapolis. Franklin hurt the champion late in the seventh round and finished him in the eighth. The AP obituary noted that The Ring named that eighth round its Round of the Year.

Shortly after winning the title, he converted to Islam and became Matthew Saad Muhammad. Wikipedia places him in a small group of light heavyweight champions of that era who became Muslims and took new names, along with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Dwight Muhammad Qawi, and says he later credited Muhammad Ali's conversion as an inspiration. The comebacks that were becoming his trademark earned him another name as well: "Miracle Matthew," or "Miracle Matt" in Philadelphia boxing circles.

Conteh, López and the 1980 Fight of the Year

His first defense, against former champion John Conteh in Atlantic City, went 15 rounds and ended in a decision for Saad Muhammad. The result was later voided and a rematch ordered after his corner was found to have used an illegal substance to stop bleeding from a cut. In the second fight he stopped Conteh in four. After a win over Louis Pergaud, he met López again on July 13, 1980, at the Great Gorge Playboy Club in McAfee, New Jersey.

The Fight City's Michael Carbert writes that López boxed well in the early rounds, building a lead with his jab and left hook. The crisis came in the eighth, when López trapped the champion and landed a long run of unanswered punches. Accounts of that run vary: Wikipedia and The Ring put it at about 20 punches, while Carbert estimates closer to 30. Saad Muhammad survived, took over through the middle rounds and stopped López in the 14th. Sources also disagree on the knockdown count, with Wikipedia giving five and other accounts four. The Ring named it the Fight of the Year for 1980, ahead of the first Sugar Ray Leonard vs Roberto Durán fight.

Eight Defenses, Then Dwight Muhammad Qawi

The AP put his total at eight successful world title defenses. After López he beat Lottie Mwale, Vonzell Johnson, Murray Sutherland and Jerry Martin. The run ended on December 19, 1981, when Dwight Muhammad Qawi, then still fighting as Dwight Braxton, stopped him in the tenth round. Saad Muhammad won a tune-up against Pete McIntyre in 1982 and got his rematch with Qawi in August in Philadelphia, but Qawi stopped him again, this time in six rounds.

The Long Decline

He kept fighting on and off until 1992, mostly without success. Philly Boxing History counts his record after losing the title as 7-11-1. Wikipedia notes that he had developed vision problems and filed for bankruptcy in 1986. His later fights took him to Australia, Spain, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago. In 1991 he also appeared at the first UWF International event in Japan against Kiyoshi Tamura, a forerunner of modern mixed martial arts, and was submitted 34 seconds into the first round. His final professional boxing record was 39 wins, 16 losses and 3 draws, with 29 knockouts. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998.

From a Shelter Bed to Advocacy

By July 2010 the former champion was homeless and living in a shelter in Philadelphia. NBC10 Philadelphia reported that the shelter was in North Philadelphia. He got back on his feet and turned the experience into advocacy, working on charity efforts around homelessness in the city. In his last years he was involved with One Step Away, the street newspaper sold by people experiencing homelessness, and worked with the nonprofit Resources for Human Development. Kevin Roberts of that organization confirmed his death and, according to WHYY, said he had done great work for the cause of homelessness in Philadelphia.

Death in Philadelphia, 2014

Matthew Saad Muhammad died on Sunday, May 25, 2014, at Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia, aged 59. News reports at the time did not give a cause of death. Wikipedia notes that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was buried at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, where his headstone carries the name "Miracle Matthew." Edward Brophy, executive director of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, called him "one of the most exciting boxers of all time," according to the AP.

Sources

• Matthew Saad Muhammad, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Champion boxer Matthew Saad Muhammad dies at 59, Associated Press via WTOP, May 2014
• Ex-fighter Matthew Saad Muhammad, dead at 59, WHYY, May 2014
• Philly-Born Boxer Matthew Saad Muhammad Dead at 59, NBC10 Philadelphia, May 27, 2014
• July 13, 1980: Muhammad vs Lopez II, Michael Carbert, The Fight City
• July 13 in Philadelphia boxing history, Philly Boxing History
• On this day: Matthew Saad Muhammad halts Yaqui Lopez in Ring Fight of the Year, The Ring (search excerpt)
• Grave of Matthew Saad Muhammad, Wikimedia Commons file description, 2021