Terrible Tim Witherspoon interview part 1

Former WBC & WBA Heavyweight Champion of the world "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon was gracious enough to take a few minutes of his time to talk to Philly's top boxing photog Mike "Teek" McGuigan for part 1 of an interview series that will hopefully document the comeback of the man who is quite possibly the best heavyweight in the history of Philly boxing. In the warm up round Tim talks a bit about his past, his desire to get back into the ring and how he wants to be remembered in the sport of boxing. While there is a lot more to come, right now we want to let the fans know that we just might be seeing the return of the Terrible One to a ring near you.




Mike McGuigan: Is it true that you are making a comeback?

Terrible Tim Witherspoon: Yes it is.

MM: What kind of things are you planning for this year?

TW: Well I’m currently training fighters and have stock in promotional companies. I tried the thing with Fingerman but it didn’t work out. Now i’m trying to do the Bo Jackson and Michael Jordan thing doing both the promoting thing and fighting. It will keep me feeling young and healthy if I stay active. By helping out the fighters out training them, I am helping myself too.

MM: Do you have a team together for your comeback?

TW: I always had a team from back in the Don King days and we stuck together like family through good times and bad times. Right now we gotta get the funds so we can all stay together. I want them to have money for food, gas, you know. We already have people who are established, we are just waiting to get together.

MM: Who are some of the fighters you are interested in fighting?

TW: If I had a chance I wouldn’t mind fighting Oleg Maskaev after about 3 or 4 fights, then the 7 foot dude (Valuev)would be a challenge but all I would need is to be in shape. The Klitschko brothers, I think Wladimir is the most talented out of all of them. I think that in good shape I can beat him. Nah mean? Every fighter has one good fight left in them. My career has been a young one, people don’t realize that. Some fighters have more amateur fights than I have pro and amateur combined.

MM: How hard do you think it will be to come back considering your age? You haven’t fought since March of ’03.

TW: I don’t feel bad at all! I have been staying busy and active. By training these various fighters, I run with them working out with them and do different things I have stayed in shape. I want to show the fighters I am teaching that I can do the same things they can do. Showing them give them the confidence in me because it’s not like “oh this guy is just talk”. I can run the miles and train too it is doubly good because it shows them and also keeps me in shape.

MM: Would you be interested in a rematch with Lou Savarese who was your last loss?

TW: I don’t think that fight would mean anything. Back at that fight I had a whole lot of problems. I been a single parent for 8 years, things weren’t just going right. I was trying to fix things in my personal life. Lou Savarese was going to get knocked out that night but as it turned out it was just his time. I mean the ref just stopped the fight, I wasn’t hurt or nothing, I was standing there lookin at him and you know I almost had him out in the first round. You have to give him credit too, he was ready, in training camp for 6 months where I was only there for a month.

MM: Would you ever fight with your cousin Chazz for the fans in an exhibition, like the older versus younger style?

TW: I don’t think that would be a problem maybe to entertain the people but that’s as far as we would go. I was his teacher, I started him out and introduced him to the people he is with. I put him in the right direction.

MM: What do you think your style would be like now in the ring?

TW: It would be different from what you see today, it more of an old school style. I was taught by Slim Jim Robinson who was very clever and slick, I have a good defense, it’s gonna be something completely different from what most of these guys bring today. A lot of these guys don’t have the best trainers around., I was around for some of the last great trainers and I thank God that I had the opportunity to be trained by them. That’s another thing I bring to the table when I train people. The history, I never been cut before, I’ve only had like 2 swollen eyes. When I fought Larry Holmes I came out with a clean face but his face was all puffed up.

MM: When it is all said and done how do you want people to remember Tim Witherspoon?

TW: As the fighter that stood up to all the promoters in boxing, all the wrong doings, as the Martin Luther King of boxing, Jack Newfield said it best in the Village Voice, he said it at my trial and I didn’t realize it. He said if someone tried to treat me wrong or one of the fighters wrong, I would put my 2 cents in. I’m not gonna be known for the overhand right, I’m gonna be known how I fought against the negatives in boxing and how I almost became the boxing union president. I want people to know me for helping and standing up for what is right, not for the knockouts or anything like that.

MM: Anything you would like to say to close the interview?

TW: A lot of the old guys in boxing who truly knew about boxing are dying away. If you didn’t get a taste of the talent that was out there in the 70’s then you don’t listen here are a lot of fighters that are being trained, but not trained properly. They aren’t getting the old school stuff and such. Boxing needs to be overhauled. I think all the old guys need to come back and get involved in boxing. They all get jobs and forget about it. I’m not gonna forget, I’m gonna try my best to help the boxing world and make sure that we have the interest of the people because they want to watch good fights. That’s why I am still in it and I’m not going no where.

MM: Thanks for your time Tim!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you can email Philly Keith at keith@phillykeith.com

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