Any other big fans of "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon. I love watching the guy fight, his crab like style and how he'd whack his opponents out with power shots. Was a very good fighter, two time belt holder as a heavyweight in the 80's. Had a great fight with Larry Holmes who was in his prime when he was still green and almost beat the great champion. Likely could've done a lot better if he didn't have his civil troubles and stayed focused. Interesting guy as well, seems like a cool dude when I've heard him talk and he had an interesting come up. Took up boxing late only had a few amateur fights, truly a natural fighter. He had a good career and I feel he was in the same league of guys like Norton, Moorer, Charles, Walcott. Thoughts or stories about "Terrible" Tim?
I remember seeing a documentary about the Ali/Holmes 1980 title fight which also showed both training camps in the build up to the fight and there in Ali's camp as one of his sparring partners was a young and unknown Tim Witherspoon. It was only after Tim retired that we heard him say in interviews about his time in Ali's camp and how Ali just didn't seem right in training leading up to that fight and how he had to hold back and ease off because Ali, away from the press, just didn't seem himself in their sparring sessions.
Tim Witherspoon was one of the best heavyweight contenders of all time. His period ranked in the top ten is ridiculous.
Tim was excellent boxer, his fight with Homes was great, nice defence, smart in the ring and had great power.
I think Spoon is #3 HW of 80's for sure. He could've been great if he was more focused/dedicated. Spoon had skills, great chin and was true puncher. If you check his KO wins on youtube, you can easily find 10+ fights where he knocked his helpless opponents out COLD, often with one punch. Green Tim did pretty well against Holmes, it was probably hardest Holmes' win in his 20 title defenses. He beat Tubbs clearly, 11-4 or 10-5 on my card (AP had it 11-4, too). Tim was beating prime Bruno and then knocked him out. Add wins over Page, Smith, Carl Williams, Snipes, Tillis (KO1). Wins over Gonzalez and Cole in his late 30's. He should've won vs Ray Mercer, too. Even in his 40's Tim was good enough to beat fringe contenders and jorneymen like Castillo, Bostice or Darroll Wilson. He also was robbed vs Monte Barrett. Still, two-time beltholder, Spoon had an amazing career. He seems to do well today. Tim at 59 looks like he is in his late 30s or early 40s now, if you check his recent interviews on youtube.
And Don King. Tim only made 90,000 plus change for beating Frank Bruno, who got 900,000. Tim stated that he deliberately lost the WBA belt against Bonecrusher Smith, so he could get away from Don King.
In some ways Tim reminded of Norton, he had that crab like defence thing going on. But also in the way that on his best day he would either defeat u or give u hard fight and then other times unexpectedly lose. But he was right up there in the top heavy s in the 80 s. And unlucky against holmes. But spoon would do well in any era if he's trained and dedicated.
Agreed. He spent something like a dozen years in the top 10, or possibly more depending on how one defines a legit rating ( magazine vs governing bodies. ) But his win list over quality opponents and time in the rankings is insane for someone who is practically unknown to the casual fan.
This is a great, and informative post. I hadn't seen it claimed that Spoon' deserved so many of the decisions he dropped. Then again, boxrec results don't always tell the full story of how a fight happened. Definitely gives me several new fights to score now.
He's in my top 25 of all time and I suspect the KO loss to Smith was not on the level. Don King black balled him. Timmy learned his craft in the Philly gyms.
I love Tim. Power, footwork, ring iq, defense, good jab, combinations, stamina, speed, decent height and reach, what more could you want in a fighter?!? Its a shame king robbed him of his passion and money. With dedication and better paydays, we could have seen some awesome match ups against the big names like tyson, bowe, or lewis that could have been very interesting thrilling wars. He should be seen as a cautionary tale for young fighters. Still had a great career and kept his marbles and decent money despite being screwed.
