With a nod of approval from George...

With a nod of approval from George Foreman, Dwight Muhammad Qawi has stepped in to save promoter Bob Arum’s next pay-for-view fight night in Las Vegas.

Foreman, the former heavyweight champion, had been scheduled to fight Sweden’s Anders Eklund on the March 19 card at Caesars Palace. Foreman, however, claiming Eklund was not enough of a puncher to prepare him for an eventual shot at current champion Mike Tyson’s title, backed out of the match.

So instead, Foreman will meet Qawi (28-5-1, 17 knockouts), a former World Boxing Council light heavyweight and World Boxing Assn. junior heavyweight champion, in a 10-round match. The 39-year-old Foreman (52-2, 49 knockouts) is 7-0 since coming out of retirement.

There will also be three 12-round North American Boxing Federation title fights on the Caesars card: middleweight champion Michael Nunn of North Hollywood against Doug DeWitt, heavyweight champ Orlin Norris against Renaldo Snipes, and cruiserweight titleholder Bert Cooper against Tony Fulilangi.