Chazz Witherspoon (born September 16, 1981) is an American former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
. The second cousin of former boxing champion
Tim Witherspoon
Tim Witherspoon (born December 27, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2003. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title in 1984, and the WBA title in 1986. Witherspoon also wor ...
, he emerged as a talented boxer in the 2000s. He won the 2004
National Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nationa ...
finals in Kansas City, Missouri, and by collecting all wins via stoppage, he became the first man in the history of the Golden Gloves to win the National Title by all stoppages.
In 2008, holding a record of 23-0 with 14 KOs, he was set to fight fellow heavyweight prospect
Chris Arreola
Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American professional boxer who has challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweight from ...
to determine America's top heavyweight contender. Witherspoon lost the fight, and Arreola went on to challenge world champion
Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of KyivTony Thompson, in December 2009. He had four more wins (three by knockout) before suffering his third defeat, to
Seth Mitchell
Seth Mitchell (born May 29, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2013. He also played college football for Michigan State University.
Early life
Mitchell earned the nickname, “Little Superstar,” while gr ...
, in a fight he was winning.
Witherspoon saw another title shot when he was set to fight former undisputed cruiserweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk ( uk, Олекса́ндр Олекса́ндрович У́сик; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WB ...
with just a few days' notice, after
Tyrone Spong
Tyrone Clinton Spong (born 3 September 1985) is a Surinamese-Dutch professional boxer and mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. As a boxer, he held the WBC and WBO Latino heavyweight titles in 2018. In kickboxing, he is the former WFCA cr ...
, Usyk's scheduled opponent, tested positive to a banned substance. Witherspoon came to the fight after a streak of 8 wins (6 by knockout) since his loss to Mitchell, having defeated Tyyab Beale, Cory Phelps, Galen Brown, Nick Guivas, Michael Marrone, Carlos Sandoval, Lamont Capers and Santander Silgado. Witherspoon lost the fight against Usyk as he retired in his corner after round 7.
Background
The oldest of three children, he was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
to Eric Witherspoon. A former basketball standout, Witherspoon graduated from
Paulsboro High School
Paulsboro High School is a comprehensive community six-year public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Paulsboro, in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of t ...
in 1999, with a 4.0 GPA and as a member of the National Honor Society. Upon graduation, he was offered three Division I basketball scholarships and two track scholarships, but he instead chose to accept a full academic scholarship at
St. Joseph’s University
Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...
, which he earned through his class performances at Paulsboro High School. He graduated from Saint Joseph with a degree in pharmaceutical marketing in 2005.
Thus the young Witherspoon, described as well-educated, intelligent, and polite, gave up basketball to concentrate on his studies. Until he was a sophomore, Witherspoon never thought about boxing, and before 2002 he had never stepped onto a ring, nor attended a boxing bout. His cousin Tim introduced him to experienced trainers Randy and Wade Hinnant, and informed him of the mental side of boxing, which Witherspoon grew to understand.
Amateur career
He began his amateur boxing career in his sophomore year of college. A year later Witherspoon won the Pennsylvania State Golden Gloves title. Five months later he placed third at the 2003 National Police Athletic League Tournament. Three months after that he won the Middle Atlantic Regional Tournament, qualifying him for the U.S. Championships and in the process was awarded the title of “Most Outstanding Boxer”.
He took second place at the 2004 U.S. Championships which qualified him for the Olympic Trials, where he advanced to the Olympic Box-offs but only made the Olympic team as an alternate.
Two months after returning from the Athens Olympics he won his second Pennsylvania Golden Gloves Title, thus advancing to the 2004
National Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nationa ...
finals in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
which he won, all wins via stoppage. He is the first man in the history of the Golden Gloves to win the National Title by all stoppages.
His amateur record is 26 wins and 6 losses.
Professional career
Known as "The Gentleman", Witherspoon turned pro in 2004 and was undefeated for the first 23 of his professional bouts, winning 15 by KO.
Coming from a winning streak of 23 wins (15 by knockout), the undefeated Witherspoon was set to fight against
Chris Arreola
Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American professional boxer who has challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweight from ...
to determine the top heavyweight contender of America. Before the fight,
Lou DiBella
Louis John DiBella Jr. (born May 17, 1960) is an American boxing promoter and television/film producer.
Education
DiBella is a graduate of Regis High School (New York City). He then continued his education at Tufts University before pursuing ...
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's
Larry Merchant
Larry Merchant (born Larry Kaufman; February 11, 1931) is an American sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO sports presentations of ''HBO World Championship Boxing'', ''Boxing After Dark'' and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, called "the great ...
stated: "Witherspoon and Arreola clearly are the two most advanced, relatively unknown American heavyweights. The winner will emerge as the better of the two and immediately goes on the short list of U.S. contenders who could be in line to get a crack at one of the world titles in the relatively near future".
On June 21, 2008, Witherspoon lost the fight against fellow heavyweight prospect Chris Arreola in which he was disqualified in the third round. Arreola landed a barrage of punches that was capped off by a chopping right that sent Witherspoon to the canvas. The bell rang early in the count, prompting Witherspoon's corner to begin entering the ring. This was ruled by the referee to be a disqualification since the round is not technically over until the count is over.
Witherspoon in his next fight defeated Adam Richards by 8th-round TKO, in an action packed fight which received Ring Magazine's 2008 Heavyweight Fight Of the year.
Witherspoon next fought
Travis Fulton
Travis Jon Fulton (May 29, 1977 – July 10, 2021) was an American mixed martial artist and a professional boxer in the heavyweight division of both sports. Known as a longtime veteran in mixed martial arts, he competed in over 300 sanctioned ...
and Willie Perryman, defeating both of them by knockout. He then suffered the second defeat of his career at the hands of Tony Thompson, losing by TKO in the ninth round. He then defeated Livin Castillo in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
, on August 28, 2010. Three months later, on November 19, 2010, he defeated Alexis Mejias, also in Atlantic City. Witherspoon had two more wins (both by knockout) before suffering his third defeat, being defeated by
Seth Mitchell
Seth Mitchell (born May 29, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2013. He also played college football for Michigan State University.
Early life
Mitchell earned the nickname, “Little Superstar,” while gr ...
in a fight Witherspoon was winning. Witherspoon next had a winning streak of 8 victories (six by knockout), overcoming Tyyab Beale, Cory Phelps, Galen Brown, Nick Guivas, Michael Marrone, Carlos Sandoval, Lamont Capers and Santander Silgado.
Witherspoon vs. Usyk
Witherspoon saw another title shot when he was set to fight former undisputed cruiserweight champion and future unified
WBA (Super)
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...
,
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk ( uk, Олекса́ндр Олекса́ндрович У́сик; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WB ...
. Usyk had been set to debut in the heavyweight division on October 12, 2019 at the
Wintrust Arena
Wintrust Arena at McCormick Square, previously referred to as DePaul Arena or McCormick Place Events Center, is a 10,387-seat sports venue in the Near South Side community area of Chicago that opened in 2017. It is the current home court for ...
,
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, against
Tyrone Spong
Tyrone Clinton Spong (born 3 September 1985) is a Surinamese-Dutch professional boxer and mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. As a boxer, he held the WBC and WBO Latino heavyweight titles in 2018. In kickboxing, he is the former WFCA cr ...
. However, Spong tested positive for
clomiphene
Clomifene, also known as clomiphene, is a medication used to treat infertility in women who do not ovulate, including those with polycystic ovary syndrome. Use results in a greater chance of twins. It is taken by mouth once a day, with a course ...
, a banned substance, just a few days before the bout. The promoter
Eddie Hearn
Edward John Hearn (born 8 June 1979) is a British sports promoter who is chairman of Matchroom Sport and Professional Darts Corporation. Hearn is the son of promoter Barry Hearn, the founder of Matchroom Sport.
Education
Hearn was a student a ...
announced that several backup fighters were being considered among whom Witherspoon was chosen. Thus, Witherspoon joined the fight with a few days' notice.
Eventually Usyk won the fight as Witherspoon retired in his corner after round 7.