Witherspoon bothered Holmes a lot because he had a bit of an akward style, keeping the right hand in jab-blocking position, sometimes resembeling the crab-like defense from Archie Moore and Ken Norton. He was also very adept at slipping punches (Holmes landed only one out of many power punches during the first four rounds) and had good counter right hands of his own. Ken Norton who gave Ali problems that he never really solved, gave Holmes a lot of trouble. It is no secret that Ali was troubled by good jabbers (Jones, Norton, Young). So how much trouble do you think Witherspoon would give Ali, who pretty much went even with a prime Holmes?
In the immortal words of Luigi, "stupid thread". If its any consolation, your brother Heerko Koois would consider this a great thread. :smoke
60's Ali would whip him by big decision but the version that fought Norton and co would have a closer fight, but he'd still win. IMO Witherspoon made a tactical error by coasting the last couple. Deep down tho i think that Holmes comeback in the eventful 9th round put a bit of doubt into him. Witherspoon too was quite shaken that round.
Holmes never had the footwork of a prime Ali Ali would decision Witherspoon fairly comfortably I feel.
Terrel was a good jabber and Ali toyed with him. I'd say Ali by late stoppage. The accumilation of punches wuld be too much for Tim to bear. Movement is the key here, and Witherspoon wouldn't know how to solve Ali's movement. Muhammad Ali TKO 13 Tim Witherspoon:good
Holmes was all over the place during most of the 9th round. He was on ***** street and taking an onslaught as the seconds ticked down on the clock. Yet again, recovery powers in reserve for Holmes to get him out of trouble and give Witherspoon something to think about. It was a massive right hand that shook Witherspoon at the end of the round. Great fight, it had everything, excluding any knockdowns. I thought Holmes won most of the early rounds behind his jab, and generally being more busier when the rounds were close. Witherspoon was a hungry young opponent, very dangerous for a five year reigning world champion who was 34 years old and on the slide. I'd take Ali to beat Witherspoon as well.
Ali would win, but if a prime Witherspoon showed up it would be a tough fight. Witherspoon was pretty damn good.
I'm going to go with the concensus here and pick Ali by a wide decision. A prime Ali such as the late 60's version or FOTC rendering was better than Larry Holmes was in 1983, or at any point in his career. Witherspoon wouldn't be able to land on a much quicker Ali nearly as often as he did against Holmes. Additionally, Ali's well tested chin and endurance would diminish the likely hood of a lucky punch putting him down. Witherspoon is in way over his head here.
As a matter of fact, this question came up a few months ago, and my answer was that Frazier certainly had the style and tools needed to beat a prime Holmes. There's no guarantee that it would happen, but I think that it's not entirely out of the realm of possibilty. Also, if we're talking about the 1983 version of Holmes ( not prime ) who fought Witherspoon versus a 1971 Frazier, then I would definately pick joe to take that fight.
I think the FOTC Frazier would've taken any version of Holmes. He looked possessed. Unless Holmes could borrow a Shavers right hand, i think he'd be in deep trouble from round 6 on.
Muhammad Ali was always vulnerable to left hooks. Larry Holmes wasn't. His weakness was right hands. Where's Joe Frazier's right hand? It's decent, but nothing spectacular. The Cooney or Norton Holmes beats any version of Frazier.:good
But it's not just the left hook, it's the relentless pressure that he puts upon the boxer, who needs his space. Cooney had a big left hook, but all he did was looking to land one big left hook. Frazier would be pressuring Holmes all the time. What fighters did Holmes fight who were good and resembled Frazier? Tyson maybe? Or Marvis Frazier, but he didn't have half the ability of his father.
