Just watched this fight again and i scored it 7-5 Witherspoon although it could have gone either way and i dont think its the robbery its always been made out to be.
There should have been a rematch. Holmes was seriously rocked by Witherspoon, and the fight was nip and tuck the whole way. Witherspoon wasn't given much of a chance against Holmes, but he pushed Holmes to the brink. Holmes should have given Witherspoon an immediate rematch.....That's one of my main complaints about Holmes' championship reign: he failed to rematch the fighters that pushed him to the limit(Witherspoon, Williams, and even the Norton fight he could have gave Kenny a rematch).
I have a copy from '83 on tape. It was close, but I gave Holmes the nod.. Spoon TRIED to pull the "Norton" routine with his crossed arms and dragging that right leg of his... It almost worked too... However, Spoon, while in top form at 219 pounds, was also green as a pro... The 9th round was the best. Spoon had Holmes hurt.. But Larry Holmes soaked up all the blows well and punched back, too... Spoon needed to close the show; he did NOT! Holmes wins.... MR.BILL
Holmes 7-5. It was a great performance by Witherspoon, but he didn't do enough to win IMO. I think some people gave Witherspoon rounds because he was doing better than expected, and were more impressed with him and would give him the round due to that, and not who truly won the round.
I had Holmes 115-114. Had I my scorecard read spoon beating holmes, that would be a huge hit to holmes legacy IMO. Spoon defintley should have got a rematch. makes u wonder how holmes would have done vs pinklon thomas, tonby tubbs or in shape greg page. not to mention not fighting pinklon thomas who beat spoon easier than holmes did. Thomas was undefeated WBC champion rated # 1 by ring magazine, holmes wanted no part of him. Holmes also threw his WBC belt in the trash rather than fight mandatory title eliminater winner greg page. He never fought dangerous right hand puncher Coetzee when the fight nearly came off. Then choosing to fight Michael Spinks for 49-0 instead of Thomas, Tubbs, or Williams rematch(he may have lost that one) These are huge criticisms against his legacy. I seriousely wonder if Holmes purposely avoided fighting the young right handed punchers of his era after the witherspoon fight. Larry Holmes was the best of his era IMO, but he missed out on some big fights 1983-1985, although in his fairness to him he was aging at this point.
I agree with everything you put forth. I've always said that Holmes' championship reign was nothing special from 1983 onwards. If Holmes had retired after the Gerry Cooney fight, there wouldn't be much to criticize. But Holmes seemed to milk his title from 1983 onwards, fighting undeserving fighters or fighters who were inexperienced and relatively green. There were many good fighters out there for Holmes to fight, but he avoided the guys who had the most talent(if not the best work ethic or dedication). Greg Page and Pinklon Thomas should have been given shots at Holmes' title, especially Greg Page who was a mandatory for Holmes in 1983. I don't care how erratic or sloppy Greg Page could be or how many fights he lost, when the guy showed up in shape and motivated he was a threat.
I think he did avoid the right hand bombers and tough rematches and even though he was old Tyson's right hand showed up....Holmes was better than most of them and in better condition but styles make losses and Holmes avoided the test
I taped this 80s "Hottie" back in '83 off ABC tape-delay.......... Great fight....... Holmes struggled, but won on my card by a **** hair....... Holmes later told me in Vegas in 1992 that he was weak at 213 pounds due to having the shits leading up to the match with Timmy Spoon........ Plus, Holmes said he never expected Spoon to weigh at 219 pounds....... Holmes thought he'd be in at 215 to 216 pounds, but he lost water cuz of the shits...... Excuses' or not, I still scored for Holmes by a hair...... 6-5-1 after 12 rds......... HOLMES!! Spoon gave a great account of himself against Holmes, but, he was also a tad green in the process there..... I think this IS a top-notch title bout on record for the 80s..... Cheers....:thumbsup MR.BILL
As many have already stated, Holmes took the easy path from about 1983 onward. There were certainly some better fights that could have been made, as opposed to some of the make - shift defenses that took place. For the life of me, I don't know how the hell Scott Frank, Lucien Rodriguez or David Bey earned the opportunities that they did.. on a different note, even though the public highly criticized Holmes for facing Michael Spinks, I don't necessarily hold this against him. It certainly was not the first time that a heavyweight champion had taken on a light heavyweight king. Also, given Spinks claim to a unified title, undefeated record, olympic gold medal and never having been floored, he was absolutely more formidable looking than most who had tried to ascend to the thrown in the past. I do however feel, that Larry Holmes' reign from 1978 to 1983 was reasonably respectable. He had reigned for nearly 5 years to this point, and had defended his title some 13-14 times, with good wins over Norton, Shavers, Cooney, Weaver, Berbick, Jones, and for whatever its worth Tim Witherspoon who went on to being one of the best fighters of the 80's.