Score It!... Holmes/Witherspoon (Part 2)

Yesterday, we looked at rounds 1-6 of the controversial 1983 heavyweight title fight between champion Larry Holmes and challenger Tim Witherspoon. Today, we move on to the second half of the fight.

Let's get right to it...

ROUND SEVEN

“Something got into Tim this round. He came rumbling forward tossing bombs, and did some bruising work early. Holmes came right back, like he always does and banged some hard shots of his own. More damage was done in this round than in the previous six combined. Tim did a little more though.” - LP

“Both men nutted up and put forth their best out put of the night. Tim's body work is thudding and he landed the harder right hands. Very close round, but I gave it to Spoon.” - ML

“I had Witherspoon well up at the half way point. He’d landed a couple nice body shots, and did some good work upstairs as well, and was really taking it to Holmes. But he did nothing for the next minute, and Larry came on very strong, and landed a number of clean hard shots. Real tough one to score, but I thought Larry actually did enough over the second half to come back and win it.” – AF


ROUND EIGHT

“It is jabs vs. heavy body shots to start. Which do you prefer? Larry also threw in some holding to mess with Tim. I gave him the round because over the second half, he was more effective.” – LP

“Tim landed some solid shots to the body but Holmes worked his one-two from the outside. This one could have gone either way, but I preferred Larry’s work.” - BM

“Both men take a little bit of a break after the action of the last round. Witherspoon's best punch here is another right hand to the body that made Larry wince. Larry lands a number of stiff jabs. Witherspoon did some good body work at the end. Witherspoon edged it, I think he did more damage.” - MN

“Both fighters seemed to be content with taking a rest, and neither made a real attempt to grab the round.” - AF


ROUND NINE

“One of the best rounds I have ever seen in a heavyweight championship fight. Larry is wobbling around, but he just refuses to let anyone get the best of him and out of nowhere he tags Witherspoon with a sword of a right hand out of the corner. Get's a huge reaction out of me every single time. This is caveman stuff and I love it!!” – LP

“A right hand to the body dropped Holmes' guard and set him up for a clubbing right over the top that stunned him. A hard left hook to the body followed by a right hand further staggered him. About half way through the round, Larry was getting bombed in the corner and it looked for a second he was close to getting stopped. Angelo Dundee, commentating on the fight, is going wild. Witherspoon punches himself out and Holmes, showing legendary heart, nails him with several right hands in the final minute of the round, even hurting him at one point. Clearly Witherspoon's round, but a classic.” - MN

“WOW! Holmes never ceases to amaze me with his balls. People don't talk about it enough. The dude was practically out on his feet and clearly won the last minute of the round. It wasn't enough for the round, but it gave me wood. War both of these guys.” – ML


ROUND TEN

“Not flashy but the experienced Holmes shows why he kept his crown for 20 defenses in this round. He used some nice movement to blunt Witherspoon`s momentum.” – BM

“Witherspoon looked like he was resting on his laurels this round. He followed the champ around, but didn’t let his hands go. Larry didn’t do a whole lot of punching himself, but I think landed enough jabs to win it. It was close though.” - AF

“Larry comes out on his toes like nothing happened. Flicking his jab and Spoon was defending most of them. Tim flipped the script a bit at the end of the round. But he caught a couple of rights before the bell.” - ML


ROUND ELEVEN

“Holmes did some good early work, but Witherspoon took the play away with some very heavy punches that seemed to hurt the champ. Not much happened after that so I had to give it to Spoon.” – LP

“Holmes started well, but Witherspoon came on strong in the middle of the round, and I had the challenger up with a minute to go. Larry came on towards the end and made it close, it wasn’t enough.” - AF

“Spoon got a little lazy, and Holmes took advantage. The Easton Assassin landed some good solid right hands, and takes it on my card with his activity and straight punching.” - BM

“Holmes is snapping Witherspoon's head back with his patented jab. He mixes in a clean left hook. Witherspoon lands some nice left hooks himself. The round tightens up in the final minute as Witherspoon starts landing his own jab. Holmes round based on the first half.” – MN


ROUND TWELVE

“Tim begins the round with two nice shots to the body that backs Holmes off. Holmes circles him and jabs. Witherspoon gets on his toes and starts throwing flashy jabs and right hands, missing most of them but slipping in a left hook to the body. Holmes lands a right to the head, Witherspoon lands another left to the body. In the last minute, Holmes snaps off a number of clean jabs, but Witherspoon lands two big left hooks. The bell rings and Witherspoon raises his arms as Holmes walks back to his corner, looking completely spent. Witherspoon edged the last round, and the fight.” - MN

“I thought that Larry worked harder, and landed more over the first two minutes. Witherspoon was doing his dancing, but other than a couple body shots, he hadn’t really done a whole lot of punching. Then, he landed a couple nice left hooks, and a short time later, a nice right hand. They were the hardest punches of the round, and were enough to sway it in his favor.” - AF

“Great final round. Both guys are spent and they throw on guts alone. This was another very close one. I shaded it to Witherspoon on the basis of the two massive left hooks he landed towards the end of the round.” - ML

“Tim has a solid beginning, but I thought Larry Holmes gutted out the final round. While he didn't land the heaviest blows, he worked harder and landed more punches.” - LP

“Spoon blew the fight in this round. His dancing did nothing and it was a premature celebration. He needed this round. Holmes worked the whole round. Tim landed one good punch but he didn’t do enough in my opinion.” - BM

The official judges scorecards favored Holmes by a split verdict.

Chuck Hassett: 118-111 Holmes
Herb Santos: 115-114 Witherspoon
Chuck Minker: 115-113 Holmes

The Boxing Bulletin's judges had Witherspoon winning 3-1-1.

Lee Payton: 115-114 Witherspoon
Brian McCarraher: 115-114 Holmes
Michael Nelson: 115-113 Witherspoon
Andrew Fruman: 115-115 Draw
Mark Lyons: 115-114 Witherspoon

Let us know how you had it.
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Score it!... Holmes/Witherspoon (Part 1)

For this month's scorecard feature, The Boxing Bulletin looks back to the night Larry Holmes put his heavyweight title on the line against young Tim Witherspoon. With only fifteen fights to his name, few gave the challenger much chance, but the 6 to 1 underdog pushed the long-time champ to the brink.

Did Larry deserve to hang on to his title? Did Terrible Tim do enough to take it?

Let's go back to the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, May 20, 1983...

The Boxing Bulletin have assembled a panel of our writers to judge the fight and explain their scores.

The Judges: Lee Payton, Brian McCarraher, Michael Nelson, Andrew Fruman and Mark Lyons.

Today, we'll break down rounds 1-6.

ROUND ONE

“This was a classic feeling out round. Tough to score, but it’s obvious at this stage that Spoon’s defensive style is going to be a problem for Holmes.” – BM

“Both fighters let their hands go, but in a cautious non-committal way and nothing of note landed.” - AF

“There's very little to separate the two fighters. Holmes is throwing far more punches, but Witherspoon blocked or slipped almost all of them. The few punches that Witherspoon threw were more accurate, albeit nothing damaging. Close round that I'd give to Witherspoon.” – MN

“Neither guy got off much, as both fighters showed excellent defense. Holmes landed a few more jabs and actually got in a hook or two.” - ML


ROUND TWO

“Larry still can't find a home for that left jab, and is having trouble landing when he lets go with power shots. Tim landed a hard right to the body and a short one in the corner, which probably won him the round, though Holmes nailed him with a beautiful shot at the bell. It was another close one.” – LP

“Witherspoon landed a crisp right inside and worked the body well. He also blocked just about all of Larry’s jabs that round, while backing him up consistently.” – BM

“Witherspoon is still doing a good job blocking Larry's shots, and now he's landing nice right hands to the body, as well as a strong counter jab. Holmes finally caught him with a flush punch at the end of the round as Witherspoon moved in, but most of the solid blows were landed by Witherspoon.” - MN

“Much the same story as we saw in the first round. Spoon got in some nice body punches, but a cross from Holmes at the bell was the best punch of the fight so far, and was enough to even the round on my card.” – ML


ROUND THREE

“Larry has started to touch Tim up with the stick in this round, but clubbing punches from the young man to end the round are enough to win it on my card. Witherspoon also landed the hardest punch of the round (and maybe the fight, so far). It was a murderous right hand to the ribs. That had to hurt a lot.” – LP

“I'm being reminded how much more fun it is to watch these guys fight than the current batch of heavyweights. Holmes is finding his range with his jab, landing a number of stiff ones. Witherspoon continues to bang Holmes' left side with his right hand. It was a close round, but it seems like Witherspoon's landing the harder shots, so I'm giving him another one.” – MN

“Witherspoon landed a couple nice right hands to the body, and punctuated the round by winning a good exchange near the end.” – AF


ROUND FOUR

“Larry's pumping his jab energetically, and it's landing more and more. Tim's still sneaking in nice body shots and counter jabs. The first two minutes are close, but Holmes took over in the last minute.” - MN

“Spoon landed a big cross early. From there Holmes dictated the pace. He
is still having trouble getting off his vaunted jab. But he slipped several through and followed with a couple of nice crosses.” - ML

“Witherspoon’s defense is the biggest factor so far. His high guard and leaning style is a bad fit for Holmes, and he’s consistently landed his counter jab right in the center of the champ’s face.” – BM


ROUND FIVE

“Spoon got lazy in the round and Holmes won it. The champ came out throwing some more combos, and managed to start getting through with some clean shots.” - BM

“I thought Holmes outworked Witherspoon this round, although the challenger came on over the last 30 seconds. It wasn’t enough to sway the round though on my card.” - AF


“Holmes finished off a four punch combo with a clean right to the head, but Tim came back with a heavy hook to the body and some nice forearm work. The challenger added some more physical stuff that earned him the round, while Holmes just couldn’t hit him like he wanted to.” – LP


ROUND SIX

“Holmes had Witherspoon handcuffed a bit, and had his own jab working well. Clear round for Larry.” - LP

“Larry controlled the 6th with his jab. Witherspoon landed a big right hand to the body with about the 30 seconds to go, but Larry came back with a couple of body shots of his own.” - MN

“Spoon's defense against the jab is masterful, but Holmes still kept him at bay
with it and got a few home. He mixed in some nice right hands as well. Spoon had a bit of a rally in the last minute. But I would say this was Holmes best round so far.” - ML

We'll be back tomorrow for Part 2.

January's edition: Hagler/Leonard

February's edition: Morales/Barrera
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Mark's Top 40 At 40: (40-36)

It's time for the second installment of the Mark Lyons countdown. As he's turning forty soon, we thought we'd ask him to make a list of his forty favorite fighters of his lifetime. No easy task, as he soon discovered.

Last week, he went over some of the names that were special to him for one reason or another, but just failed to make the cut. This week, he gets down to business...


Forty through thirty six...

40. Curtis Parker

Career Record: 29-9 (21)

Three Favorite Fights: Mike Colbert W12, Mustafa Hamsho I L10, Wilford Scypion L10

May as well start the list by saying I am a huge mark for Philly fighters. Parker was a typical tough Philly battler who waded in for war. His power didn't translate to the elite level, but he was a very difficult guy to stop. Hard in-fighter with a great left hook who rarely took a backwards step.

Two rugged fights with Hamsho showed his toughness. Curtis was a guy who just never got to the next level. He did take out Frank "The Animal" Fletcher in an all Philly brawl.

A guy doesn't have to be a champion to inspire you. Sometimes it's just their will and desire coupled with a ten year old's fascination with Philly warriors.

39. Juan " The Baby Bull" Diaz Career Record: 34-1 (17) Three Favorite Fights: Lavka Sim W12, Julio Diaz TKO9, Nate Campbell L12 I've never understood the disdain a lot of fights fans have for Diaz. Always pressing forward and ripping body shots looking to go to war. Just because he isn't a devastating puncher with a sculpted body doesn't make him a wimp. In his only loss he displayed as much courage as you ever want to see. With a face the elephant man would wince at, Diaz continued to give his all and came up short. A tough loss can be the best thing for a young pugilist and when he faces Juan Manual Marquez I am convinced he will be on top of one of boxing's best divisions.

38. "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon Career Record: 55-13-1 (38) Three Favorite Fights: Larry Holmes L12, Ray Mercer L10, Jorge Luis Gonzalez TKO5 Old farts like myself who watched TNF will probably agree there was nothing better than a Witherspoon night. I can't think of a fighter I would rather watch in a tune up. It was only a matter of time until a thudding right hand crashed onto someone's jaw with enough force to part the Red Sea. I'm still waiting for Anders Ecklund to get up. In just his 15th fight he engaged all time great Larry Holmes (pictured battling it out with Witherspoon) in one of the finest title fights the division has seen. There was more heart and guts displayed in the ninth round than Wladimir Klitschko's entire career. Spoon didn't always come in the best of shape. But he always brought his lethal right hand, a rock solid jaw and the willingness to get it on. Even an old Spoon was robbed, in my opinion, against ray Mercer, and an even older one almost beheaded Lou Savarese.

37. Jesse Burnett Career Record: 23-18-2 (11) Three Favorite Fights: Victor Galindez W12, John Conteh D10, Yacqui Lopez L15 Photos © Nick Duggan This is a fighter you could make a movie about. Watching his career was like watching the titanic sink. Some fighters don't prepare for fights or let themselves down. Burnett was a classic victim of poor management and bullshit judging. He fought in a Golden era of Light Heavyweights and faced all of them with the exception of Saad Muhammad. The majority of these fights were on about 2 weeks notice and many in the other fighters home town. He was the victim of so any bad decisions, he makes Glen Johnson look blessed. The British crowd cheered him after a dubious draw against John Conteh and you would be hard pressed to find 3 rounds to give Leon Spinks in Burnett's 12 rd unanimous decision loss. I mean, these were the kind of decisions that make you want to pound your television with a sledgehammer. When subbing on late notice, yet again, to face Victor Galindez in a Cruiserweight eliminator. Jesse put it all together and dropped Galindez twice on his way to a wide decision win. His reward was a title shot nearly three years later at the tender age of 37 against the vicious punching ST Gordon. This is a guy that I wish more would familiarize themselves with. Tremendous skills and a story that just breaks your heart.

36. "Terrible" Terry Norris Career Record: 47-9 (31) Three Favorite fights: Ray Leonard W12, Maurice Blocker TKO2, Troy Waters KO3 Here was a guy who approached every opponent like he caught them in bed with his wife. Tremendous boxing ability, but he would prefer to pound you into submission instead of use them. Termed as "chinny", I prefer to think of him as brilliantly vulnerable. Norris had only one mission when he entered the ring. To get back out of it as quickly as possible. Kill or be killed couldn't apply better to a fighter. I'll give away a secret, Sugar Ray Leonard wont be appearing on this list. Watching Terry pummel him (that's Leonard covering up on the ropes in the photo) brought me great unexpected joy and made me a fan for life.

By Mark Lyons e-mail

Last week's installment of Mark's list
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