In 1979, after Johnson became world champion by defeating Parlov, he and Saad Muhammad met again on April 22 in Johnson's hometown of Indianapolis for the WBC's world light heavyweight crown . In a fight considered by many experts as a "Saad Muhammad classic", and which subsequently featured on ESPN's "Classic Fights" show, Saad Muhammad won with an eight-round knockout after staggering Johnson towards the end of the seventh round. Shortly afterward, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Matthew Saad Muhammad.