My dinner with Conteh
08-05-2007, 02:50 PM
By nice coincidence I was typing an article from Boxing News May 15 1981 for Fan of Sal- and it just happened to be Saad's 'real' birthday. He was six weeks younger than originally thought. Happy Birthday to a great, great warrior. Here is the vast majority of the piece in question:
Matthew Saad Muhammad, who offered $10,000 to anyone with information as to his identity, believes his search is over. Saad, who was found wandering as a child in Philadelphia, was at the time of writing awaiting conclusive conformation that he is actually Maxwell Loach.
The WBC champion has met one of his supposed half-brothers, Rodney Loach. He’s said he’s seen footprints of a baby named Maxwell Loach and is certain the prints are of him when he was a baby.
If Saad is indeed Maxwell Loach, his date of birth is August 5th 1954, according to hospital records, making him 26 years old. He was named Matthew Franklin by nuns at the Philadelphia orphanage when the youngster was aged about four and was unable to give his name; Matthew was for the saint and Franklin was the name of the parkway (or main thoroughfare) were he was found.
Last November, a woman wrote to an American magazine called Jet, saying she knew Saad when he was really Maxwell Loach. Her letter was forwarded to Saad’s lawyer, Tim Crawford. His inquiries have led him to the conclusion that Saad is one of nine brothers and sisters whose mother died in 1966. Her name was Helen Loach.
The woman had children fathered by three men. The whereabouts of Saad's father are not known, he was though to be in the army when Matthew was born.
Buoyed by his apparent discovery of his roots, Saad predictably thumped Scots-Canadian Murray Sutherland in nine rounds to make his seventh defence of the WBC crown.
:bbb
Matthew Saad Muhammad, who offered $10,000 to anyone with information as to his identity, believes his search is over. Saad, who was found wandering as a child in Philadelphia, was at the time of writing awaiting conclusive conformation that he is actually Maxwell Loach.
The WBC champion has met one of his supposed half-brothers, Rodney Loach. He’s said he’s seen footprints of a baby named Maxwell Loach and is certain the prints are of him when he was a baby.
If Saad is indeed Maxwell Loach, his date of birth is August 5th 1954, according to hospital records, making him 26 years old. He was named Matthew Franklin by nuns at the Philadelphia orphanage when the youngster was aged about four and was unable to give his name; Matthew was for the saint and Franklin was the name of the parkway (or main thoroughfare) were he was found.
Last November, a woman wrote to an American magazine called Jet, saying she knew Saad when he was really Maxwell Loach. Her letter was forwarded to Saad’s lawyer, Tim Crawford. His inquiries have led him to the conclusion that Saad is one of nine brothers and sisters whose mother died in 1966. Her name was Helen Loach.
The woman had children fathered by three men. The whereabouts of Saad's father are not known, he was though to be in the army when Matthew was born.
Buoyed by his apparent discovery of his roots, Saad predictably thumped Scots-Canadian Murray Sutherland in nine rounds to make his seventh defence of the WBC crown.
:bbb