Some heavyweight upsets stay in the mind. The one that took place on this day back in 1986 might not rank up there with earth-shattering stunners such as Buster Douglas KO Mike Tyson, Hasim Rahman KO Lennox Lewis, or Muhammad Ali TKO Sonny Liston, but the shock-job James Smith, AKA Bonecrusher, gave us as he took out Tim Witherspoon inside a round sure sent waves through the division.
It’s fair to say Tim Witherspoon was a fine fighter who had all the fundamentals, the Philly fighter having the tools as well as the teaching.
Tim Witherspoon, who was given the “Terrible” nickname by Muhammad Ali, with whom the young, aspiring Witherspoon sparred at Deer Lake as his pro career blossomed, could have been a great.
Former two-time heavyweight champ Tim Witherspoon celebrates his 65th birthday today. The Philly warrior with the jack-hammer right hand, the constantly reliable chin and the full gas tank, got out of the sport in one piece; with “Terrible Tim” having also survived the so-called ‘Lost Generation of Heavyweights,’ this the 1980s, a decade that gobbled up a number of talented big men who, like ‘Spoon held the belt or belts for less time than should have been the case.
It’s a common theme: every former great champion believes the current best in the world would not have been able to live with the high level of competition that was around in his day.