How come Bonecrusher Smith ended up getting a rematch w/ Witherspoon?

Witherspoon already decisively beat him the first time, how come he had to fight him again?

 

Because of Don King. Both Smith and Spoon were King fighters. King at the time owned all the heavyweights, and he was the one who organized the Acefield tournament to determine an undisputed champion. Spinks chose not to participate, and Tyson won the tournament and beat the linear champion Spinks, who did not participate.

 

Wasn't Bonecrusher a late sub?

 

What Left Hook said. It's King.

 

Tim had just won a title fight against Tony Tubbs , but there was a lot of talk about a failed drug test and Tubbs v Witherspoon 2 was set for december 1986.. 2 weeks before the card was due to take place Tubbs aggrivated an old elbow injury and pulled out and James was due to face Mitchell Green on that same date so DKP replaced Tubbs with Smith leaving Green a very angry individual, culminating in a DKP bodyguard being bitten (but that was another story) Smith V Tim was part of the Unification series after Spoon blew out another WBA candidate Frank Bruno in London.. Tim actually was very unhappy at his contract to KIng and i think wanted out and to be a free agent , and many think his 1 round loss was Tims way of getting free of Don because of the small payments he was getting for title defences.. (Bruno Fight was small change after Don took his slice..) Smith anyhow was indeed a late substitute who was ready for a fight that very weekend.. The Ko was a shock especially as it was so fast.. but James took the opportunity and milked it and went on to have that legendary dance athon with Tyson in Vegas after Mike took the WBC away from Berbick... James was 33 at the time he boxed Tyson.. quite old for a champ at heavy.. strange both Tim and Smith had stoppage wins over Bruno, and his third came against Tyson ... whom Smith lost to on pts next up..




mirageboxing.blogspot.com

 

No,

Smith was a late substitute for Tubbs.....

 

actually mitch green pulled out...........and bonecrusher was in

 

Excellent post, and one of the first that I've heard in a long time that seems to be dead on balls accurate where this topic is concerned.

As for the suspician of Witherspoon throwing the Smith fight, it has always been my understanding that it was a black mail job from DK.. Around 1990, I saw Tim Witherspoon take on a journeyman named Jeff Simms. During the commentary, Sean O'Grady told Al Albert that in his pre-fight meeting with Spoon, Tim told him that he was approached by King before that fight, and was told " you WILL lose this fight, or you WILL test positive for drugs. " When O'Grady asked why Tim had tested positive for drugs regardless of the loss, Tim replied that King decided to go ahead and sabotage him anyway...

Was Tim telling the truth, or just trying to cover up for an embarrassing defeat? Who knows. I do know however, that fighters don't just go around accusing powerful men of blackmail. The very notion of being involved in a fixed fight is very discrediting, even if the victim had his arm twisted. To no surprise, Witherspoon was basically blackballed from contention for the rest of his career. From 1987-1990, Witherspoon was winning fights, yet his rating continued to drop, while many of his peers ( some of whom he had beaten ), were getting title shots. In the meantime, the Ring Magazine continued to list Witherspoon as one of their top 5 to 8 heavyweights, despite the first round defeat to Smith.. If anything, it only made the Smith loss look even fishier. The one thing that remains consistent as seen in both your post and mine, is that most people who were around then concur that Spoon's loss to Smith reeked of a dive, as well as some very dark politics. Finally around 1991, Spoon's rating did begin to appear in some of the alphabet ratings upon beating Jose Ribalta and Carl Williams. But his standing as a true force in the division was never consolidated as no marketable opponent wanted anything to do with him nor his checkered past..

 

Because Tony Tubbs pulled out of their Dec. '86 rematch due to some bull**** excuse, and Don "The" King didn't want to waste the event at MSG on HBO Cable TV......... Tim Witherspoon was a flabby 235 pounds in Dec. of 1986, and Spoon looked like he just crawled outta bed to fight James "Lazy Bones" Smith................ Smith was a "Late Sub" for Tony "Tub of Goo" Tubbs because Smith was already in training and in good shape to fight on short notice................... '86 was Smith's peak year in boxing.......... Smith scored wins over "Mike Weaver, Jesse Ferguson & David Bey" going into his title shot against Tim Witherspoon..........

MR.BILL

 

Do tell.

 

So James Smith and Tim Witherspoon werent Don King fighters?? :roll:

 

Spoon did not throw the fight ... he went in so over confident because he beat Bonecrusher so easily and throughly the first time out ... he really pounded the sh-t out of him. I was amazed Smith lasted the distance as he took dozens of bombs from Witherspoon ... Tim went in overconfident, got caught with the first right hand Smith threw and did not recover . In addition, it was a strange KO as Witherspoon was not really that hurt. He simply could not regain his balance and in NYC the three knockdown rule awarded Smith the bout ... I have always felt if it was fought in another state and Tim made it through the first and had a minute to regain his balance he would have come out and won the fight ... such is life ..

 

Well, you said nothing of Tubbs pulling out nor of Smith being his replacement. Only jibberish about them both being King fighters, which is only half the story, and something that everyone already knows.

 

Smith knocked two goddamn teeth outta Spoon's mouth during them 3 knock-downs in round one........... Smith iced Spoon........... Spoon's mind was nowhere near the fight back in 1986........... Peace.........

MR.BILL

 

Yeah, I don't really hold the opinion that Spoon took a dive that night. I think that he had way too many distractions going into that fight and Bonecrushers power lived up to his nickname he was able to take advantage.

Smith-Spoon has never struck me as a fixed fight, no matter how many times I watch it.