A recurring theme recently here at The Boxing Truth ® has
been to take a look at fighters who are attempting to reestablish themselves as
contenders in their respective divisions. One such fighter who has been working
his way up the ranks is Heavyweight contender Chazz Witherspoon. Witherspoon
carried a three-fight winning streak into his fight against prospect Nicholas
Guivas on August 15th at The Playground in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The story of this bout as this observer said prior to the
fight was whether or not Witherspoon, who entered the fight with a record of
33-3, with 25 Knockouts, could continue to build momentum on his comeback and
if he were successful whether a victory could lead to a fight against someone
who is rated in the top fifteen in one of the sport’s respective sanctioning
organizations. Although one might argue that the thirty-three year old Witherspoon
was in a “Must Win” scenario in regard to his future as a contender, he did
have a significant experience advantage over the thirty-six year old Guivas,
who entered the fight with a record of 11-2-2, with 9 Knockouts.
What impressed me about Witherspoon’s performance in this
fight was the measured way he approached his attack of Guivas. Witherspoon
patiently awaited his opportunities to execute his offense and was able to
capitalize on those openings when Guivas would leave an opening. Witherspoon’s
jab and right hand were particularly effective in allowing him to more or less
pick his spots.
Although Guivas was quite “Game” and was willing to
engage with Witherspoon, he simply could not establish a rhythm in this fight.
Witherspoon was able to drop Guivas with a right hand midway through the second
round. Even though Guivas was able to survive the round, he was unable to land
anything to discourage Witherspoon from continuing his attack. The systematic
attack by Witherspoon would continue into round three before the fight was
stopped at 1:07 of the round.
As I stated prior to this fight if Witherspoon were to
look impressive his storyline of a fighter looking to get back in the mix could
be one that will continue to generate buzz. Witherspoon simply did what was
expected of him in this fight and dominated a “Game”, but overmatched opponent.
Now with four victories in his comeback, all coming by way of knockout under
his belt, the question is what is next for Chazz Witherspoon?
Whether or not Witherspoon will face a fighter who is
ranked in the top fifteen or top twenty in either of the sport’s five major
sanctioning organizations in his next fight remains to be seen. One potential
opponent that this observer believes would be an interesting fight would be an
encounter between Witherspoon and Heavyweight contender Travis Kauffman.
Kauffman, who recently scored a first round knockout over Richard Carmack on
August 14th, is a fighter who much like Witherspoon is trying to reestablish
himself as a contender in the Heavyweight division.
Kauffman has only lost once in thirty professional fights
and has been undefeated since 2009. A fight between Kauffman and Witherspoon
could offer both fighters the chance to get into position to potentially fight
for a top ten ranking. Both fighters have career knockout percentages of 70%
and based on the styles of the two fighters I believe this could be a good
fight if it were made.
Other possibilities for Witherspoon could be a potential
rematch with Chris Arreola who defeated Witherspoon in 2008. Arreola, who last
fought in July and earned a draw against Fred Kassi is not currently rated in
the top fifteen of any of the sport’s five major sanctioning organizations and
could view a rematch with Witherspoon as potentially a way to elevate his
standing in the rankings.
With several fighters either ranked in the top fifteen of
a sanctioning organization’s respective rankings and other fighters all looking
to elevate their standing in the division with the ultimate goal of challenging
either unified IBF/WBO/WBA/IBO Heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko or
undefeated WBC world champion Deontay Wilder, the Heavyweight division is one
that is very much open and if Witherspoon can continue to win regardless of who
he fights next, it is not difficult to envision him possibly being a top
contender in the not too distant future.
Chazz Witherspoon however, should be considered a fighter
to watch and it will be interesting to see what is in store for the next
chapter of his comeback.
“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau
Denison All Rights Reserved.
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