So Tim is the WBA belt holder, now instead of meeting Bruno he's fighting Tony Tucker. Tucker with a record of 31 - 0 Is looking good but let's say Tim is in great shape for this one.. Who takes it? 15 rounds
so he beat Bruno, Tubbs and beat and lost to Bonecrusher all in 86 right? (correct me if I'm wrong) I'd say he beats Tucker.
Yes that's right, I had to check myself. The Tubbs fight sounds like hardly a classic and he Bruno gave him a decent fight. Tucker was agile, mobile and excellent chin so I lean to Tucker clinching a tight decision. But close.
Tim by UD, in a 9-6 type of fight. If Tony had developed, he would have won a close UD. It would be a case of Tim being able to hurt Tony but Tony not able to hurt Tim.
Best 2 alphabet champs of the 80s. This is one of those matchups where you expect a decision that comes down to an arbitrary round or two. If I got to pick going with Tucker because hes a little bigger and was a little more consistant.
When Tim faced Bruno he was not in good shape - over 235 lbs. Bruno outhustled him at times. But Bruno had a bad chin and bad stamina. Tucker had a good chin and good stamina, although neither had been tested much up until the point where this matchup would occur. Witherspoon should win if his mind is right. Tucker hadn't beaten anyone good yet. He had a glossy record but hadn't fought good competition. When he beat James Broad by decision in late 1986 it was the best fighter he had faced and Broad wasn't even in the top 10 having been stopped by Witherspoon in two rounds in 1985. I see this like the Tucker v. Orlin Norris fight where Tucker moves but doesn't penetrate Tim's guard much. They both have great chins but Tim has much better power. He walks Tucker down and lands the much harder blows. Tucker would try to outhustle him. You posit that Witherspoon shows up in good shape for Tucker. If so, Tim wins a clear decision. If he showed up in the shape he was in for Bruno, Tucker could possibly outhustle him but the gap in experience is so much that Tim should still win a decision, albeit a close one.
both very underappreciated and unfulfilled. Tucker had great potential, but after the Tyson fight he fell into addiction and never recovered. Witherspoon's career was spoiled by boxing politics. Both of them should have won much more, boxing wise they were not weaker than Bowe, Holyfield, Lewis but their CV is weak... if they met, it could be a good fight. Tucker was one of the few outfighters with a good punch, jaw and footwork. Tim was physically stronger and his overhand was impressive. I think TnT would have won by a close decision.
Yeah but Buster was outhustling him until seeming to suddenly run out of gas. Tucker basically hung around until Douglas tired and cleaned up. Buster was ahead on points. And this was far from the super motivated Douglas that fought Tyson.
