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Tim Witherspoon Still Throwing
By Rick Folstad
At 44, he still has that
crazy overhand right. It comes in fast
and mean and unless you’ve been waiting for it all
night, it arrives unexpected; an unwelcome party crasher
who suddenly turns out the lights. Tim Witherspoon is at
the age when most men start taking longer naps, shorter
walks and bigger helpings. They start thinking about
grandchildren, hair plugs, light beer and comfortable
shoes.
They don’t start thinking about becoming heavyweight
champion of the world.
Still, Witherspoon
(55-11-1, 38 KOs) has that
overhand right that won’t go away, won’t let him quit.
It’s there patiently waiting for
another chance, another young career to ruin. If
Witherspoon has lost anything over the years, it wasn’t
his ability to end fights early. Punching power is
usually the last thing to abandon a fighter. If you can
knock guys out when you’re 24, you can knock them out
when you’re 44. Like George
Foreman, Witherspoon has that gift.
It’s already carried him to two world championships.
Now he hopes he can ride it to a third.
He’ll be packing that overhand right with him
on Sunday when he takes on Lou Savarese
(42-4,
34 KOs) at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, CA., for the NABO
heavyweight championship.
Billed as King of the Mountain, the fight will help
decide who gets to move to the next square and who has
to go back three spaces. The
winner will earn some kind of
heavyweight outskirts bragging rights, though it’s hard
to say exactly what those will be. While
Witherspoon has that “not so secret’’ overhand right,
Savarese isn’t coming into this fight unarmed or
unaware. A heavy-hitter himself, he’s stunned his share
of heavyweight hopefuls, though he was pretty much
the stunnee against Mike Tyson. But so were a lot of
good heavyweights.
Still, the legend in this fight belongs to Witherspoon.
He’s the one with the infamous punch, the second
childhood and the two heavyweight titles.
“It would be idiotic to not be somewhat concerned about
that punch,’’ Savarese said recently. “Tim is still
dangerous. You’ve just got to be smart about it.’’
As for what it feels like to be
fighting an old man, Savarese, at 37, knows better
than to consider Witherspoon anything less than a
huge threat. Terrible Tim lands that one special punch
and Savarese’s career is suddenly pitched into the
abyss.
“Age isn’t that much of a factor,’’ he said. “Look at
Larry Holmes and George Foreman and what they did when
they were older. Look at Lennox (Lewis) and Evander
Holyfield. Those guys are all getting older, but they’re
also taking better care of themselves.’’
Like Witherspoon is doing.
What’s important to remember is that during his long
career, Witherspoon was known to speed past the gym in
order to arrive early at the party. Self-discipline has
never been his strong suit. But at 44, he can’t get away
with bad habits and still fight, and he knows it. His
time left in the fight game is short and can be measured
with a stopwatch. He can hear the seconds ticking away
and that’s got to be the scariest thing of all.
Except for maybe that overhand right of his.
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2009 Reader Of The Year Weighs In On Legacies Of Pacquiao And Mayweather
"Pacquiao has proven....in the ring... time and time again that he is the greatest of this time. He has earned his respect. He begs for nothing. He is a man content with his growth, his family and his achievements. A man the world has now turned it's eyes to behold. Floyd Mayweather is not even close in stature. He may possess the greatest skills but he is not the Face of Boxing today. Google Manny Pacquiao. There are 20 million searches. Google Floyd. There are 6.5 million. Look at the NYTimes, the Wall Street Journal and Time. Count how many words were used these past years to mention Floyd Mayweather. Then count the words still being printed about Manny. And keep counting. As I've said many times, Floyd has been too clever by half. He has short changed his public.....and has out-smarted himself. Manny will fight but a few more times. Enjoy it while you can. He is an all time great pugilist. Floyd, with all of his remarkable skills lack the will to be truly great in the biggest sense of the word. His legacy will look more like Holmes that Ali. He has earned it." ---November is half-way gone, but we don't need to keep counting ballots. It's a landslide. Fe'Roz has won the 2009 Reader of the Year award. His comments add to the website immeasurably, and he epitomizes the thoughtful, respectful, educated fan of pugilism we strive to cater to at TSS. Congrats, Fe'Roz, and please accept my thanks for being the valued member of this community that you are. Sincerely, Editor Mike
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