Awesome fight prime for prime, unfortunately Tim wasn't in his prime when Riddick appeared. I think Riddick wins a close decision.. but I can see Tim edging it aswell, he was awesome in his immediate prime. :smoke
I think Riddick Bowe who beat Holyfield in 1992 vs Witherspoon who squared off against Holmes 1983, is probably about the best we can do in terms of this matchup. Beyond that it gets a bit dicey as far as when each man was at his absolute best. That said, I would probably pick Bowe to win a clear decision. I don't think he'd KO a motivated Spoon, but if we look at both men at age 25 ( Bowe in 92', Spoon in 83' ), Riddick had everything goin for him. He was 31-0 as opposed to Spoon's record of 15-0. He had better management. He was in slightly better shape. He had a more extensive amateur career, and had a size advantage to boot..
That does not negate his lack of defense inability to handle a jab and tendency to ust soak up damage. If Witherspooen relies on his jab every round he wins a comfortable decision
I think it will take a bit more than just a mere jab from Witherspoon to win this fight, but I acknowledge that its a possibility. Personally, I think Bowe has a more complete package of tools in his repetoire than Spoon does in both the physical and skills department, but who knows for sure.
In a twelve round fight, Bowe has just enough to defeat Witherspoon, though I would favor Tim to outwork Riddick in a fifteen rounder.And if Golota and Holyfield can put him down, I think Tim could score a possible knockdown also.
