I see it just the same way. Spoon is underrated and Spoon is a great puncher. But he won't outmuscle Norton. Furthermore Nortons style is not vulnerable to right hands or 1-2s. Norton always had trouble with sluggers...not with boxers. So i favor Norton slightly. It will be a great fight.
Yes it would be a classic. Really evenly matched as far as skill goes but i feel that Ken's superior conditioning sees him through to a close but decisive verdict on the cards.
In addition to being past prime I also suspect that Holmes under estimated Witherspoon. He was a 15 fight novice with a short amateur career. Holmes probably didn’t even bother to watch footage of him before meeting him. Bad move when fighting a guy who was as awkward as Tim was.
It was almost Ali-Spinks level of underestimation...except Larry was nowhere near as past it as Ali was in 1978 and Witherspoon was a far better fighter than Leon.
I know boxing is full of “ what if’s”. But I’ve probably said at least a million times that if Tim Witherspoon had stuck to the right path he could have beaten a lot more people and gone further.
With both guys’ arms so crossed up they might have it out in a cross-stitch contest. In a boxing ring, I favor Norton due to better offense and output. I think he’d get a lot done to the body and take away a decision.
I personally think he could have beat Thomas and Smith (second fight). I never completely "got" Tim, he fought by far his greatest fight ever against Holmes, then just seemed to immediately decline. Bizarre, and in some ways more of a shame than Bowe. Even his titular winning victories weren't particularly impressive imo. Only time I found myself cheering for him was when he knocked the crap out of Bruno, I though that was the best he looked against top competition since Holmes.
Because Norton was blasted out in 1 round by Shavers and Cooney, and blasted out in 2 by Foreman. Great fighter but did not do well against big punchers.
