Mugabi’s first victory of note came on May 2, 1982, when he took on veteran Curtis Ramsey. It was Mugabi’s 11th bout and he took care of the American in two rounds in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 1983 was a busy calendar year for the Beast. In that year he took on Gary Guiden, who had just come off of a Championship fight against Davey Moore; Mugabi stopped him in three. Many started speculating about Mugabi’s role in the future of the Junior Middleweight and Middleweight divisions. The fact Mugabi easily made the weight at both divisions made him more intriguing than most prospects. Nicaraguan, Eddie Gazo, a former WBA Junior Middleweight Champion provided Mugabi with his first real test. Gazo went rounds with Mugabi, but ‘The Beast’ ended things the way he always did. Mugabi was simply stronger and faster tactically overwhelming the busier Gazo. In the same year, Mugabi took on Curtis Parker (a former Pennsylvania Golden Gloves amateur champion )The ‘meeting’ with Curtis Parker was on national television. Parker was an established fighter, but Mugabi’s destruction of Parker was savage. It was the first time that Parker had lost a bout by knockout.