How well would a well trained and motivated Tim Witherspoon do against Joe Louis?

Now that's a bit closer. Personally i think Witherspoon's size and chin would get him home.

 

Schmeling was a lot more consistent so he could be rated higher even if he did not win when both were at their best.

Both at their best I would still pick Schmeling though a Witherspoon decision win would not shock me.

 

Maybe and maybe not.

At the end of the day though you have to look at Witherspoons body of work against ranked oponents and ask whether it matches up to Schmelings.

Any other frame of comparison is purley subjective.

 

You have to put yourself on the ground in Baers era and look at what he did in the context of his own time.

What sort of a figure will James Smith or other top heavyweights of the 80s cut in 80 years time among people who have not folowed their career?

They might just be the Comiskeys of their era.

 

Witherspoon defeated Tubbs, page, Snipes, Bruno, Smith, Tillis, Ribalta, Williams, Gonzalez and Broad, all of whom were ranked fighters. What's more, he lost questionable decisions to Holmes early in his career, and to Mercer later on.

Witherspoon's body of works were more than ample to be compared to a fighter of Shcmeling's calibur.

 

I have to disagree.

How many fighters did Witherspoon defeat who were the No1 contender around the time for example?

Schmeling has at least four that I can think of over a substantial period from Risko to Louis. That is before we even get into the equivalents of Bruno et al.

It is obvious that Schmeling was a much more substantial figure in his day than Witherspoon was in his.

 

Name recognition wise, perhaps, but then he was a national hero representing a mjor nation during a time of war. As for his beating #1 ranked contenders, if you're going to give him recognition for these feats, then you have to acknowledge the fact that Witherspoon was two time world champion, regardless of weather you recognize the alpha titles as being valid.

 

Witherspoon might get a few shots in that surprise Louis and wobble him, maybe even deck him once, but Louis is going to precisely pressure Witherspoon all night long. I don't like Tim's chances with Louis in his grill from the get go. Once Witherspoon gets hurt, Louis WILL finish him off.

Louis KO-6

 

Janitor, Below is footage of Larry Holmes vs Tim Witherspoon and Max Schmeling vs Mickey Walker. Study how well Spoon uses the left jab, overhand right, and upper body movement. Do you not think that he might have beaten Schmeling, Walcott, Baer, Braddock and maybe even upset Louis on the right night?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Qi6ue-MX


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhDOczA57r0

 

Lets put Schmelings acomplishments into perspective.

In his first fight on American soil he comes from nowhere to defeat No1 contender and heir aparent to Gene Tunneys crown Johny Risko. Two fights later he is the world champion.

In all he defeated the following ranked contenders-

An asterisk denotes that this fighter was a top 2 contender (I think they were all No1).

Johny Risko *
Paulino Uzcdun (Schmeling actualy beat him 3 times)
Jack Sharkey * (Schmeling actualy beat him twice
Young Stribling*
Mickey Walker
Walter Neusel
Steve Hamas *
Joe Louis *

That is 5*'s

There was nobody in Witherspoons era with that sort of consistency or stature in the division except Larry Holmes.

 

Except for Louis he would have been a serious threat to any of them at his best and theirs. While not quite of the stature of Schmeling, Baer and Walcott he is at the level where they are likley to split a series.

I have already made the observation that he could be a stylistic nightmare for Louis.

I dont think that the Walker fight is the best to showcase Schmeling however. Incidentaly he might have matched up worse against Schmeling than any of the other fighters listed since Schmeling liked pressure fighters and was goood at countering a jab.

 

I think this is all about range. Witherspoon isn't going to be forcing Louis forward, and he isn't going to be crowding Louis on the inside. He's going to be operating at mid-to-close range, ie. right in the eye of the storm, where Louis has more power, more handspeed and more skill.

On the other hand, Terrible Tim was very durable and was a good all-around boxer. He was also very strong. Nevertheless, I'd pick Louis to wear him down and stop him in the middle rounds in a rather brutal one-sided fight.

 

I can't see this fight being one sided at all. After viewing a fair amount of footage of both Spoon and Louis, I think Tim definately had the skill, athleticism and power to be one of Louis's finer opponents, and perhaps even upset him an off night. Witherspoon was a much better athlete and all around fighter than Max baer, Buddy Baer, Tony Galento, and Max Schmeling. Joe Walcott was a better boxer who had more skill than Witherspoon, but not his physical tools. The only time Witherspoon was Ko'd in his prime was in 1986 against Boncrusher Smith which, Tim later claimed was a dive resulting from King blackmailing him. The next time Witherspoon got Ko'd, came in 1999 at the age of 42. Tim was perfectly capable of going 15 rounds and beating a world champion. Hell, some even feel that he was robbed against Holmes, who I'd pick to beat Louis.

 

All well and good, but how do you see the fight unfolding?