I was a young kid sparring with the greatest of all times. “When I was sparring with Ali … I wouldn’t dare hit him in his head. I’m the real hero, the champion that was for everybody.”Įarly in Witherspoon’s career, he had the opportunity to work as a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali, ahead of Ali’s challenge of Larry Holmes. And I went on to become heavyweight champion of the world. What made me was the neighborhood I came out of. Sometimes we were called names by the Irish and Italians. “We knew the Italians, Irish, and the Mummers. Interestingly, Witherspoon credits his Philly heritage with his success as a fighter. Witherspoon was born and bred in Philadelphia and was only the third fighter in boxing history, after Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali, to become a two-time heavyweight champion, though admittedly he never held the undisputed title. Yes, most consider Smokin’ Joe Frazier a Philly fighter and the City of Brotherly Love is where you’ll find his statue, but he was born in South Carolina. I heard the gunshots when Angelo Bruno was shot.” “But,” asks the man who gave Larry Holmes one of the toughest fights of his career, “did they get the real story in Rocky? I saw the heat, the blood on the streets. This may be true, but there’s no doubt that Rocky Balboa is a more famous name than “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon. I’m the real two-time heavyweight champ from Philly.” I was born in South Philly, the only heavyweight champion born in Philly. Everyone knows who Rocky Balboa is, but who is the true Rocky, the real-life Rocky? Tim Witherspoon, a former heavyweight champion who, like the mythical Rocky, hails from Philadelphia, says it’s got to be him.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |