Chazz Witherspoon (born September 16, 1981) is an American former professional boxer. The second cousin of former boxing champion Tim Witherspoon, he emerged as a talented boxer in the 2000s. He won the 2004 National Golden Gloves 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.
Chazz Witherspoon | |
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Statistics | |
Real name | Chazz Witherspoon |
Nickname(s) | The Gentleman |
Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Nationality | American |
Born | (1981-09-16) September 16, 1981 (age 41) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 42 |
Wins | 38 |
Wins by KO | 29 |
Losses | 4 |
In 2008, holding a record of 23-0 with 14 KOs, he was set to fight fellow heavyweight prospect Chris Arreola to determine America's top heavyweight contender.[1][2] Witherspoon lost the fight, and Arreola went on to challenge world champion Vitali Klitschko. After this defeat, he had three wins (all by knockout) before losing again, this time to Tony Thompson, in December 2009. He had four more wins (three by knockout) before suffering his third defeat, to Seth Mitchell, in a fight he was winning.
Witherspoon saw another title shot when he was set to fight former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk with just a few days' notice, after Tyrone Spong, Usyk's scheduled opponent, tested positive to a banned substance.[3] 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.[4]
The oldest of three children, he was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Eric Witherspoon.[5] A former basketball standout, Witherspoon graduated from Paulsboro High School in 1999,[6] with a 4.0 GPA and as a member of the National Honor Society.[citation needed] Upon graduation, he was offered three Division I basketball scholarships and two track scholarships,[2] but he instead chose to accept a full academic scholarship at St. Joseph’s University, which he earned through his class performances at Paulsboro High School.[1] He graduated from Saint Joseph with a degree in pharmaceutical marketing in 2005.[2]
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.[2][1]
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 finals in Kansas City, Missouri 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.[7][2]
His amateur record is 26 wins and 6 losses.
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 to determine the top heavyweight contender of America. Before the fight, Lou DiBella stated: "The winner [of Witherspoon vs Arreola] is clearly going to be the guy [who emerges as a top heavyweight contender]".[2] HBO's Larry Merchant 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".[1]
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.[1]
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.[citation needed]
Witherspoon next fought Travis Fulton 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, 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 in a fight Witherspoon was winning.[8][9] 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 saw another title shot when he was set to fight former undisputed cruiserweight champion and future unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk had been set to debut in the heavyweight division on October 12, 2019 at the Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, against Tyrone Spong.[10] However, Spong tested positive for clomiphene, a banned substance, just a few days before the bout. The promoter Eddie Hearn announced that several backup fighters were being considered[11] among whom Witherspoon was chosen.[12] Thus, Witherspoon joined the fight with a few days' notice.[13]
Eventually Usyk won the fight as Witherspoon retired in his corner after round 7.[14]
42 fights | 38 wins | 4 losses |
---|---|---|
By knockout | 29 | 3 |
By decision | 9 | 0 |
By disqualification | 0 | 1 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
42 | Loss | 38–4 | Oleksandr Usyk | RTD | 7 (12), 3:00 | 12 Oct 2019 | Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, US | |
41 | Win | 38–3 | Santander Silgado | RTD | 2 (8), 3:00 | 23 Mar 2019 | Showboat Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
40 | Win | 37–3 | Lamont Capers | UD | 8 | 10 Mar 2018 | Claridge Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
39 | Win | 36–3 | Carlos Sandoval | TKO | 4 (10), 1:25 | 1 Oct 2016 | Sun National Bank Center, Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | |
38 | Win | 35–3 | Mike Marrone | TKO | 3 (6), 1:31 | 6 Aug 2016 | Grundy Arena, Bristol, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
37 | Win | 34–3 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 15/08/2015 | ![]() |
|
36 | Win | 33–3 | ![]() |
TKO | 5 | 18/04/2015 | ![]() |
|
35 | Win | 32–3 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 24/01/2015 | ![]() |
|
34 | Win | 31–3 | ![]() |
TKO | 8 | 12/07/2014 | ![]() |
|
33 | Loss | 30–3 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 28/04/2012 | ![]() |
For WBO–NABO heavyweight title. |
32 | Win | 30–2 | ![]() |
KO | 2 | 04/02/2012 | ![]() |
Won IBS North American Continental heavyweight title. Saulsberry knocked out at 0:42 of the second round. |
31 | Win | 29–2 | ![]() |
KO | 3 | 22/10/2011 | ![]() |
Cobb knocked out at 1:07 of the third round. |
30 | Win | 28–2 | ![]() |
RTD | 4 | 19/11/2010 | ![]() |
Mejias retired at 3:00 of the fourth round. |
29 | Win | 27–2 | ![]() |
TKO | 7 | 28/08/2010 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:21 of the seventh round. |
28 | Loss | 26–2 | ![]() |
TKO | 9 | 05/12/2009 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:13 of the ninth round. |
27 | Win | 26–1 | ![]() |
KO | 2 | 29/08/2009 | ![]() |
Perryman knocked out at 2:09 of the second round. |
26 | Win | 25–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 28/03/2009 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:43 of the third round. |
25 | Win | 24–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 8 | 15/11/2008 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:29 of the eighth round. |
24 | Loss | 23–1 | ![]() |
DQ | 3 | 21/06/2008 | ![]() |
For WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title. Referee disqualified Witherspoon after his corner entered the ring after a knockdown at the end of the third round. |
23 | Win | 23–0 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 16/04/2008 | ![]() |
|
22 | Win | 22–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 4 | 15/02/2008 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:44 of the fourth round. |
21 | Win | 21–0 | ![]() |
UD | 8 | 05/01/2008 | ![]() |
|
20 | Win | 20–0 | ![]() |
RTD | 5 | 29/09/2007 | ![]() |
Guerrero retired at the end of the fifth round. |
19 | Win | 19–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 9 | 27/07/2007 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:08 of the ninth round. |
18 | Win | 18–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 19/05/2007 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:10 of the third round. |
17 | Win | 17–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 7 | 06/04/2007 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 0:19 of the seventh round. |
16 | Win | 16–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 10/02/2007 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:38 of the second round. |
15 | Win | 15–0 | ![]() |
KO | 3 | 14/10/2006 | ![]() |
Ladson knocked out at 2:13 of the third round. |
14 | Win | 14–0 | ![]() |
KO | 2 | 15/09/2006 | ![]() |
Otukwu knocked out at 0:45 of the second round. |
13 | Win | 13–0 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 01/07/2006 | ![]() |
|
12 | Win | 12–0 | ![]() |
UD | 6 | 11/05/2006 | ![]() |
|
11 | Win | 11–0 | ![]() |
UD | 6 | 07/04/2006 | ![]() |
|
10 | Win | 10–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 03/03/2006 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:55 of the second round. |
9 | Win | 9–0 | ![]() |
UD | 6 | 05/11/2005 | ![]() |
|
8 | Win | 8–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 29/09/2005 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:00 of the second round. |
7 | Win | 7–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 06/08/2005 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 0:43 of the third round. |
6 | Win | 6–0 | ![]() |
UD | 4 | 16/06/2005 | ![]() |
|
5 | Win | 5–0 | ![]() |
KO | 1 | 17/05/2005 | ![]() |
Bradbury knocked out at 2:14 of the first round. |
4 | Win | 4–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 4 | 15/04/2005 | ![]() |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:40 of the fourth round. |
3 | Win | 3–0 | ![]() |
UD | 4 | 18/02/2005 | ![]() |
|
2 | Win | 2–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (4), 1:26 | 27 Jan 2004 | ![]() |
|
1 | Win | 1–0 | ![]() |
KO | 1 (4), 1:53 | 12 Dec 2004 | ![]() |