Chazz Witherspoon vs. Livin Castillo

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Chazz Witherspoon 231 lbs beat Livin Castillo 212 lbs by TKO at 2:21 in round 7 of 10

• Date: 2010-08-28
• Location: Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
• Referee: Albert Earl Brown
• Judge: Tony Perez
• Judge: Barbara Perez
• Judge: Emil Conforti

Notes

Witherspoon, nephew of former world heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, outlasted veteran Livin Castillo in a bout decided more on physical conditioning, less on boxing skill. Castillo, who lives in Atlantic City, site of this bout, took the bout on three weeks notice. For three rounds, Castillo thoroughly outboxed Witherspoon without ever being touched. Castillo's plan was to establish dominance in the early rounds and get Witherspoon out without having to go to the later rounds. Castillo could not get Witherspoon out, but succeeded in making the former Golden Gloves champion look bad. Castillo landed many jabs for three rounds, but could not get Witherspoon out because he failed to cut off the ring. In the fourth round, both men fought for foot position. Castillo landed many jabs, while Witherspoon landed power shots and began to put pressure on Castillo by backing him up. Even round. In the fifth, Witherspoon began to jab with both hands and scored, while some of Castillo's punches began to miss or fall short. A close round, perhaps even, perhaps for Witherspoon. In the sixth, all of Witherspoon's jabs were landing, while Castillo appeared to fade, missing or falling short with ALL of his punches. In the seventh, Castillo appeared out of gas, got knocked down, got up and desperately tried to hold on for dear life. Witherspoon flurried on a defenseless and helpless Castillo nonstop on a corner, forcing the referee to stop the bout. Witherspoon's plan was to box cautiously and patiently without punching himself out and wait for Castillo to run out of gas. It worked, but the bout raised big questions about Witherspoon's lack of offensive abilities against his world class opponents Chris Arreola and Tony Thompson and how he would fare against similar 'A' level opponents in the future. He did not throw his right hand or appear aggressive, only near the bout's very end. A brief bizarre moment occurred early in the bout when Castillo, Witherspoon and referee Earl 'The Pearl' Brown somehow got tangled up in a clinch and all three strangely tumbled to the canvas in a neutral corner, referee Brown landing on top of a dazed Witherspoon. Nobody was hurt. This bout was the main event of a six bout card at Trump Taj Mahal, the first for Spartan Fight Promotions and CEO Michael Brestle.