Last Sunday in Philadelphia at the recent PAB HOF Inductions event, I spoke with former two-time world heavyweight champion “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon, whom I have known for years.
Witherspoon is one of the nicest and most sincere former champions who attends Philadelphia boxing matches and events like this latest one. He is a fan favorite who was kind enough to answer a few questions about his career.
I first met Witherspoon in 1979 when he was at a Muhammad Ali sparring camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, with his trainer “Slim” Jim Robinson.
Witherspoon turned professional in October 1979, defeating the debuting Joe Adams and winning his first fifteen fights before losing a disputed split decision to WBC world champion Larry “The Easton Assassin” Holmes (42-0) at the open-air Dunes Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in May 1983 “I thought I won that fight for years, I learned you have to do more than just win,” Witherspoon said.
In the fourteenth fight, Witherspoon defeated Renaldo “Mr.” Snipes, 22-1-1, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas by majority decision, which earned him a title shot. In his previous fight, Snipes was defeated in a title fight against Holmes.
I remember watching the Holmes-Witherspoon fight and feeling that Witherspoon should have received a split decision. Years later, I mentioned this to Holmes at his press conference, and he wasn’t elated that I said it.
Witherspoon rebounded in his next fight, defeating Floyd “Jumbo” Cummings 15-4-1 in the dunes. In September 1983, he won the vacant NABF title that Michael Dokes had vacated to continue winning the WBA title, defeating James “Quick” Tillis (26-3) in the first round. This earned him another title shot, winning the vacant WBC world title by defeating Greg Page (23-1) at the Convention Center in Las Vegas in March 1984. “Over time, I found out that Don King was just manipulating the fighters for his own benefit, warning us to get in shape, and he said there’s a adolescent kid named Mike Tyson and you better get in shape. He was just using us as opponents to get to Tyson,” Witherspoona said.
In August, in his first defense, Witherspoon lost a majority decision to Pinklon “Pink” Thomas 24-0-1 at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Another fierce fight.
Witherspoon won his next seven fights, including knocking out James “Broad Ax” Broad 17-1 to win the NABF title in two rounds at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, Recent York.
Witherspoon then defeated future world champion James “Bonecrusher” Smith 15-3 at the Riviera Hotel. Three fights later, on January 17 in Atlanta, Georgia, he defeated Tony “TNT” Tubbs 21-0 to win the WBA world title, becoming a two-time world champion.
Right before the Tubbs fight on December 27, it was my birthday, I was training for the fight, and I was smoking marijuana. After the fight, I tested positive, paid a $25,000 fine, had to go through rehab for about six months, and got a rematch. Tubbs was injured in training, injured his shoulder, and did not fight for another 15 months.
Witherspoon then traveled to Great Britain in front of 40,000 spectators, stopping future world champion Frank Bruno (28-1) in the eleventh round in July 1986.
In December 1986, Witherspoon suffered his third loss in a rematch with “Bonecrusher”, losing in the first round at Madison Square Garden in Recent York, falling to 25-3. “I was supposed to fight Tubbs in a rematch, and when I heard he was injured, I left camp. I wasn’t in shape for that fight. We knew there was a three-knockdown rule, so I jumped. You could see me crawling on the floor. I faked it to make it look good, otherwise I wouldn’t get paid. I didn’t even get hurt,” Witherspoon said.
In 1987, Witherspoon filed a $25 million lawsuit against promoter Don King and his stepson Carl King, who was Witherspoon’s manager, accusing them of fraud and conflict of interest. In 1992, the lawsuit was settled out of court for $1 million. “I got the money, about $800,000 in parts,” Witherspoon said.
Witherspoon won his next eight fights. In March 1991, he won a split decision over another opponent I thought was Holmes’ overmatch, but he lost when he was 16-0, IBF USBA champion Carl “The Truth” Williams (23-3) at Trump Taj Mahal Stadium in Atlantic City, and Witherspoon won a split decision.
Three wins later, Witherspoon lost a split decision to Everett “Substantial Foot” Martin 17-14-1 at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. “I took him lightly and thought he was just an opponent,” Witherspoon said.
In January 1996, Witherspoon defeated former world cruiserweight champion Al Cole 27-1 and then Cuban great Jorge Luis Gonzalez 24-1, both at MSG. “I boxed Gonzalez, not wanting to get into a fight with him,” Witherspoon said.
In his next fight, Witherspoon lost to former WBO world champion Ray “Merciless” Mercer 23-4-1 in Atlantic City. “His jab was stronger than Holmes’,” Witherspoon said. After posting the win, he went on a five-fight losing streak against WBC continental American title challengers Larry “The Legend” Donald (29-1-1), James Thunder, 32-9, Andrew Golota, 31-3, “Super” Brian Nielsen, who tied Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0. “His people came from Denmark to my house and asked me to dive and they would pay me for it, so I agreed,” said Witherspoon, who was stopped after four rounds. Witherspoon then lost in a rematch to Page 55-14-1 and was stopped after seven rounds in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Witherspoon posted an 11-1-1 record before dropping his last two fights, including the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title to Lou Savarese (42-4). That put his final record in March 2003 at 55-13-1 with 38 shutouts.
Asking Witherspoon about today’s top heavyweights, he said: “I was in the UK and I had a daughter, Shanayiah Isabella Grace London Witherspoon, her mom’s last name was London and my last name and she’s 15 now,” he added. “I met Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. They both asked me to spar with them. I would never have asked them to do that knowing the shape I was in,” Witherspoon said.
“Two years ago, I was taking my daughter to school when I woke up drenched in sweat. I felt very bad on the way to the hospital. The doctor said, ‘You’re lucky, if you hadn’t come, you would have died from blood clots,'” Witherspoon said.
“My son Tim Witherspoon Jr. has a boxing gym in Bristol, Pennsylvania,” Witherspoon said.
Witherspoon said he stays robust by drinking honey and turmeric smoothies and taking blood thinners. He has a lot of knowledge about what to do to stay robust.
Ken Hissner is an experienced boxing journalist with over 20 years of experience covering the world fight scene. As a senior writer for Boxing News 24is well known in the boxing community for his detailed results coverage, in-depth historical articles and ringside reports of major events.
Throughout his career, Ken has written for several major boxing outlets, building a reputation for accuracy, consistency and insight. His work often highlights both established champions and emerging prospects, providing context that connects boxing’s affluent history with today’s action.
When he’s not in the ring, Ken continues to study the sport’s past and present, ensuring his coverage reflects both deep knowledge and current relevance.
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