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Oh deary me.
Posted: 28 Feb 2006, 19:56
by stujones
After seeing him in Clinton Woods' corner for the first Johnson match, I really did think Terrible Tim Witherspoon looked very contented as a coach (if albeit not a particularly convincing one) - I thought his money issues were behind him and he was one fighter who I thought we'd seen the last of.
Wrong.
http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=000432
Posted: 28 Feb 2006, 20:07
by dve3333
48 years old
:( Bloody hell its things like this after watching a quality fight like Mosley-Vargas that you realise how murky Boxing can be.
But as its on the same bill as his son and in their hometown hopefully its just some sort of farewell
Posted: 01 Mar 2006, 12:51
by silkov
Christ, Tim already talks like he's got a mouthful of marbles... does he want to end up like Greg Page??...
Posted: 01 Mar 2006, 13:01
by mattyp151
silkov wrote:Christ, Tim already talks like he's got a mouthful of marbles... does he want to end up like Greg Page??...
well, the fight is in 2 weeks approx, and he still doesn't have an opponent, you think he's gonna fight anyone above a corpse?
Posted: 01 Mar 2006, 13:09
by Coconut
Corpse To Fight Tim With A Spoon
I'd read that preview
Posted: 01 Mar 2006, 14:17
by dondada
silkov wrote:Christ, Tim already talks like he's got a mouthful of marbles... does he want to end up like Greg Page??...
I spoke to him a few weeks ago. He was fine.
I wish he didn't have to fight - he's skint, I believe.
Posted: 01 Mar 2006, 14:24
by Shirow
That's a crying shame. Awful to think of the humiliating defeats he's going to have to pursue before he feels he can retire again.
It's the 20th anniversary of his KO of Bruno too this year. Puts in all in perspective.
Posted: 01 Mar 2006, 14:56
by dondada
Shirow wrote:That's a crying shame. Awful to think of the humiliating defeats he's going to have to pursue before he feels he can retire again.
It's the 20th anniversary of his KO of Bruno too this year. Puts in all in perspective.
F ucking hell. That does make you think. Damn shame. One of the most underrated heavys of the last 30 years.
Posted: 01 Mar 2006, 15:19
by silkov
Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:silkov wrote:Christ, Tim already talks like he's got a mouthful of marbles... does he want to end up like Greg Page??...
I spoke to him a few weeks ago. He was fine.
I wish he didn't have to fight - he's skint, I believe.
Seems to speak with a lisp from when I've seen recently... still seems very sharp but how long will that last if he continues to fight again?... these are big guys throwing big punches, even a journeyman heavyweight will carry some punch... hope he doesn't pursue a full career...
Posted: 01 Mar 2006, 15:20
by silkov
Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:Shirow wrote:That's a crying shame. Awful to think of the humiliating defeats he's going to have to pursue before he feels he can retire again.
It's the 20th anniversary of his KO of Bruno too this year. Puts in all in perspective.
F ucking hell. That does make you think. Damn shame. One of the most underrated heavys of the last 30 years.
Tyson never went anywhere near him in the 80s or even 90s...
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 00:47
by Steudle
Maybe he wants to fight on the same card with his son then get out??
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 03:43
by dondada
Steudle wrote:Maybe he wants to fight on the same card with his son then get out??
Yes, I hadn't thought of that. Good idea. Let's hope so.
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 03:51
by Autobarn
he should think of what happened to greg page
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 06:00
by jamesmcdonnell
Fortunately for Witherspoon he's not one of those guys who got hit a lot in his career. If he takes part in some low level fights he probably knows how to cover up enough not to take a beating.
As Ian said, he sounds fine when he speaks, he's just got a bit of a drawl because of his accent. The only time I remember him getting battered was against Bonecrusher Smith and that was all over pretty quick.
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 08:07
by Autobarn
yeah he did have a good defense. shame he never got it together 100% as he looked superb in that war with Larry Holmes in 1983. if he'd have been disciplined who knows what he would have achieved - my guess is he wouldn't be coming back now
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 08:17
by jamesmcdonnell
His contractual dispute with Don King wrecked his career. Think he's on record as saying that he didn't train for the bonecrusher Smith fight and was totally demoralised coming into the fight.
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 09:45
by Old bones Ian
I have to say that i always thought Witherspoon was overrated, he was a good fighter, but the way people talk about him is as if he was a great one.
I keep on hearing that he was unmotivated against Bonecrusher Smith, but thats his fault , very good fighters still win those fights, and usually when someone is undertrained they don't get blasted in the 1st round they would get stopped late on. I think he just got caught and was stopped fair and square.
As a person i have respect for him , for standing up against King , that probably cost him another title shot.
I don't think that he would have beat Tyson though.
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 10:06
by jamesmcdonnell
Yep, good points. Witherspoon was a very good fighter, but he wasn't a great one. Tyson would have knocked seven bells of shit out of him if Witherspoon had gotten past Smith.
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 10:11
by Lenny
I think a well motivated Spoon would have been Tyson's hardest fight of the 80's easy
good jab skills and power and I can't see him being intimidated the way a lot of Mike's opponents were
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 10:53
by jamesmcdonnell
Don't think he would have been able to do what Douglas did though. Douglas was a big powerful guy and had good movement and skills, his problem was motivation.
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 11:07
by dondada
topper123 wrote:I have to say that i always thought Witherspoon was overrated, he was a good fighter, but the way people talk about him is as if he was a great one.
I keep on hearing that he was unmotivated against Bonecrusher Smith, but thats his fault
These aren't great points, whatsoever IMO. The guy was desperately underrated - a plain fornicating scandal to say the opposite. It isn't really 'people' who talk about him as if he was a great one - just the odd few like me who always trumpet his cause.
In only his
sixteenth fight he gave all-time great Larry Holmes, then 42-0, absolute nightmares and dropped a split.
I love this "it was his fault" shit. You have absolutely no idea what was going on behind the scenes - or if you do, you are incredibly lacking in understanding/sympathy.
However, definitely some good points in the second half of your post - I give him more respect than almost anyone else for having the dignity to tell King to go to hell, which definitely ruined his career.
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 11:34
by Old bones Ian
Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:topper123 wrote:I have to say that i always thought Witherspoon was overrated, he was a good fighter, but the way people talk about him is as if he was a great one.
I keep on hearing that he was unmotivated against Bonecrusher Smith, but thats his fault
These aren't great points, whatsoever. The guy was desperately underrated - a plain fornicating scandal to say the opposite. It isn't really 'people' who talk about him as if he was a great one - just the odd few like me who always trumpet his cause.
In only his sixteenth fight he gave all-time great Larry Holmes, then 42-0, absolute nightmares and dropped a split.
I love this "it was his fault" shit. You have absolutely no idea what was going on behind the scenes - or if you do, you are incredibly lacking in understanding/sympathy.
However, you do make some good points in the second half of your post - I give him more respect than almost anyone else for having the dignity to tell King to go to hell, which definitely ruined his career.
King may have ripped him off , but who got him the title shot after only 15 fights, King.
Witherspoon didn't have a gun stuck to his head to sign the contracts to King, at some point he has to hold his hands up and say he was enticed by the wad of cash that King held in front of him. Thats what cost him getting propaly paid after the Bruno fight.
And it was completly wrong by King what he did, but Witherspoon should have checked the contract to see what he was signing.
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 11:46
by silkov
topper123 wrote:Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:topper123 wrote:I have to say that i always thought Witherspoon was overrated, he was a good fighter, but the way people talk about him is as if he was a great one.
I keep on hearing that he was unmotivated against Bonecrusher Smith, but thats his fault
These aren't great points, whatsoever. The guy was desperately underrated - a plain fornicating scandal to say the opposite. It isn't really 'people' who talk about him as if he was a great one - just the odd few like me who always trumpet his cause.
In only his sixteenth fight he gave all-time great Larry Holmes, then 42-0, absolute nightmares and dropped a split.
I love this "it was his fault" shit. You have absolutely no idea what was going on behind the scenes - or if you do, you are incredibly lacking in understanding/sympathy.
However, you do make some good points in the second half of your post - I give him more respect than almost anyone else for having the dignity to tell King to go to hell, which definitely ruined his career.
King may have ripped him off , but who got him the title shot after only 15 fights, King.
Witherspoon didn't have a gun stuck to his head to sign the contracts to King, at some point he has to hold his hands up and say he was enticed by the wad of cash that King held in front of him. Thats what cost him getting propaly paid after the Bruno fight.
And it was completly wrong by King what he did, but Witherspoon should have checked the contract to see what he was signing.
You need to read up on what King used to do. He'd get a boxer to sign something without them reading the contract, its an old trick and he did it to many... his top fighters would be sharing gum sheilds and trunks in training etc and they often never saw money that they were supposed to be fighting for. To not sympathise for a young guy who was swindled by a very very streetwise man many years older than him is rather harsh... I imagine that at one point Witherspoon like many other fighters trusted King and by the time he realised what was going on it was too late...
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 12:02
by Max Molyneux
What was Bruno like with Witherspoon before he ran out of gas?
Was it like with Bonecrusher?
Posted: 02 Mar 2006, 12:08
by jamesmcdonnell
Bruno was winning on points, although Witherspoon was having his moments Frank was definetly on top. I believe Mr McNeilly covered it in his FISTORY article some time ago, it wasn't quite out of nowhere was it Ian, Bruno began to slow a bit and Witherspoon timed him with a big shot.