Witherspoon won a decision over Snipes prior to fighting Holmes. It was very close. Do you mean a rematch later? Both of these guys were talented, albeit inconsistent. I would lean towards Tim each and every time but Snipes would be a live dog.
I'm going to lean toward a Witherspoon decision, with some minor controversy. I'm extremely confident.
Do you think that this fight may have led to the Holmes camp slightly underestimating Witherspoon? Not that Larry was out of shape mind you but maybe not ready for the difficulties Tim would present.
Tim wasn't highly regarded really, especially after just scraping past Snipes. I do believe Holmes was in excellent shape as he hit what he considered at the time to be his peak weight - 212 to 213 pounds. Obviously none of his camp would have forecast how well Tim fought. As an aside there was a sizeable incident between the camps and their fighters in the hotel they were staying at which really sparked Witherspoon up. Tim had a brilliant trainer in Slim Jim Robinson who put him in there with a great gameplan. "Take away his jab and he's just another fighter". While he didn't negate it he did nullify it a lot more than most others had and punished him to the body in return. Witherspoon just needed to be a bit busier.
Oh wow! No, I had no idea. I guess with age Im forgetting some of my fights, specially A) recent ones and B) ten round fights of the past, lol So lets make it a rematch then!!
Like Rosario-Ramirez 1, Rosario-Davis, Camacho-Rosario, Hagler-Leonard and Trinidad-De La Hoya then ah? Fights that were controversial in nature but when you look at them with a neutral eye they were right along the lines of a draw or a 2 point win for each side. I guess you could add Lockridge-Gomez to that list too, although I myself think Rocky dominated, but not by much, along the 144-140 or 144-141 line. And Spinks-Holmes 2, which I scored 143-142 for Holmes. Joe Cortez said a one point fight s not a robbery , when asked by KO magazine about the latter fight. But anyways, I havent seen Witherspoon-Snipes. nI guess I'll have to look at ir.
Witherspoon stood out as, not only one of the more talented fighters of the period, but also one of most composed. He really could hold it together. Subtle differences in his approach, both offensively and defensively gave him the edge against Snipes. Snipes had natural ability but I don't think he was mature enough to apply it in the same way.
In a rematch, maybe taking a couple of years later, this time Witherspoon stamp's his authority and stops Snipes in the seventh.
Good comparisons. Rocky did dominate, you are right. It was wide enough to be labelled a robbery IMO. Give it a go. It was an interesting matchup.
