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Holyfield KOs Qawi in 4th, Retains Title

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Evander Holyfield knocked out Dwight Muhammad Qawi with a crushing right to the jaw in the fourth round and retained the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Assn. cruiserweight titles Saturday night at Atlantic City, N.J.

Fifty seconds into the fourth round, the 25-year-old Holyfield hurt the 34-year-old Qawi with four jabs and a right to the chin. Holyfield, then moving and jabbing, caught Qawi going backward with a three-punch combo. The final punch, a left hook, put Qawi down.

He struggled up at the count of three and took a mandatory eight count from referee Randy Neumann.

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Holyfield then went to work and, after missing a short left, nailed Qawi with a right to the head. Qawi went face down and was counted out at 2:30 of the round.

It was an impressive victory for the unbeaten Holyfield, who has announced his intention of moving into the heavyweight division to seek a fight with undisputed champion Mike Tyson, who was at ringside.

Holyfield weighed 187, Qawi 190. Qawi’s record dropped to 28-5-1.

A crowd of about 4,800 also saw Holyfield’s 1984 Olympic teammate, Mark Breland, score a one-sided, 10-round decision over Javier Suazo in Breland’s first fight since he lost the WBA welterweight title to Marvin Starling on an 11th-round knockout in August.

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