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punches as Tubbs took a more defensive approach, backing up and not forcing anything offensively. Despite
Witherspoon's relative dominance, the three scorecards were extremely close. One judge scored the bout a draw at 143–143 (each fighter winning seven rounds apiece with one round even) while the other two scored the fight narrowly in favor of Witherspoon with scores of 144–143 (seven rounds to six with two even) and 144–141 (nine rounds to six).
332:
Witherspoon was the aggressor of the fight, pressing the action while Tubbs, weighing 244 pounds, 15 pounds heavier then he was when he won the title in his previous fight, fought at a much reserved pace. Though there were no knockdowns in the fight's 15 rounds, Witherspoon had little trouble landing
304:
faced legal charges for tax evasion and conspiracy, causing him to temporarily reduce the number of fights he promoted. When King was acquitted of all charges in
November, the fight was officially announced the following month to take place on January 17, 1986. King also announced that the bout would
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27:
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and manager Carl King were first summoned to go before the
Georgia Boxing Commission to explain the positive test after which Witherspoon was issued a one-year probation and a $ 500 fine. Witherspoon would then face a disciplinary hearing with the WBA in March. Though Tubbs and his team insisted
341:
Said
Witherspoon about Tubbs after the fight "He didn't do nothing. He didn't really fight like a champion. I had to chase him down." Tubbs himself offered no excuses stating "There ain't no excuses in the game of boxing. Either you win or you lose. And I take my losses like I take my wins."
324:, which aimed to crown a new undisputed champion, that King had announced plans for only 10 days prior. The unification series was officially announced at press conference held on the day of the fight, with the winner of the Tubbs–Witherspoon fight automatically joining the series.
345:
Shortly after his victory, Witherspoon ran into trouble after a post-fight drug test revealed traces of marijuana in his system. Facing a possible suspension and being stripped of his title, Witherspoon admitted to smoking a single
295:
in what was Page's first defense on April 29, 1985. For his first defense, Tubbs was now obligated to face the WBA's #1 ranked heavyweight Tim
Witherspoon, who had become the mandatory challenger after defeating
350:
in
November while celebrating with friends after signing the contract for the title shot against Tubbs and stated "I would never know it would trace up so many months later." Witherspoon, his promoter
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opted to keep
Witherspoon as champion and instead to issued him a $ 25,000 fine and ordered a Witherspoon–Tubbs rematch.
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Undefeated Tony Tubbs had captured the WBA heavyweight title in his previous fight, defeating reigning champion
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Though it was not officially a part of it, the Tubbs–Witherspoon fight was a precursor to the
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on June 15 that same year. The fight was delayed for several months as the bout's promoter
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Tim
Witherspoon admitted Wednesday to smoking marijuana before his...
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was a professional boxing match contested on July 19, 1986, for the
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World Boxing
Association heavyweight championship matches
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820:, NY Times article, 1986-02-18 Retrieved on 2024-07-31
796:, NY Times article, 1986-02-06 Retrieved on 2024-07-31
784:, NY Times article, 1986-01-18 Retrieved on 2024-08-03
753:, NY Times article, 1986-01-07 Retrieved on 2024-08-03
741:, LA Times article, 1985-12-05 Retrieved on 2024-08-03
717:, NY Times article, 1985-06-17 Retrieved on 2024-08-03
705:, NY Times article, 1985-04-30 Retrieved on 2024-08-03
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Witherspoon be stripped of the title, WBA president
808:, UPI article, 1986-02-06 Retrieved on 2024-07-31
729:, UPI article, 1986-11-26 Retrieved on 2024-08-03
899:
727:Don King said Tuesday he is 'more humble' and...
918:January 1986 sports events in the United States
765:"Tubbs finally beaten in first title defense"
762:
739:Tubbs-Witherspoon Fight Jan. 17 at Atlanta
258:wins via MD (144–143, 144–141, 143–143)
913:1986 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
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751:Heavyweight Unification Series Planned
756:
13:
763:Lacy J. Banks (January 18, 1986).
14:
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794:Marijuana Found in Boxer's System
167:6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
678:"Tim Witherspoon vs. Tony Tubbs"
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322:heavyweight unification series
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156:27 years, 11 months
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782:Witherspoon Captures Crown
715:Thomas is Clearing the Air
305:celebrate the birthday of
923:Boxing matches in Atlanta
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703:Page Loses Title to Tubbs
298:James "Bonecrusher" Smith
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195:227 lb (103 kg)
192:244 lb (111 kg)
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241:No. 3 Ranked Heavyweight
233:No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
226:No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight
307:Martin Luther King Jr.
184: in (192 cm)
818:Witherspoon Probation
771:– via NewsBank.
218:Heavyweight Champion
61:Title(s) on the line
283:heavyweight title.
21:
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887:Succeeded by
863:Succeeded by
769:Chicago Sun-Times
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602:heavyweight title
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472:Walter Santemore
367:Confirmed bouts:
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68:heavyweight title
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884:17 January 1986
871:Preceded by
865:vs. Mike Jameson
860:17 January 1986
844:Preceded by
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831:"BoxRec - event"
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142:Pre-fight record
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73:Tale of the tape
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37:January 17, 1986
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373:Weight Class
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315:Omni Coliseum
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159:28 years
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686:. Retrieved
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617:Broadcaster
607:Broadcasting
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564:Heavyweight
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537:Heavyweight
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510:Heavyweight
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483:Heavyweight
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458:Heavyweight
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429:Heavyweight
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397:Heavyweight
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276:King's Dream
275:
274:
273:, billed as
264:
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255:
236:
221:
148:23–2 (16 KO)
145:21–0 (14 KO)
125:Pennsylvania
121:Philadelphia
20:King's Dream
16:Boxing match
518:Mitch Green
465:Eddie Gregg
256:Witherspoon
211:Recognition
902:Categories
855:Tony Tubbs
682:boxrec.com
664:References
567:200+ lbs.
540:200+ lbs.
513:200+ lbs.
486:200+ lbs.
461:200+ lbs.
432:200+ lbs.
414:Tony Tubbs
400:200+ lbs.
363:Fight card
287:Background
266:Tony Tubbs
170:6 ft
112:Cincinnati
103:"Terrible"
86:Tony Tubbs
881:'s bouts
857:'s bouts
848:Greg Page
598: For
545:David Bey
446:Greg Page
337:Aftermath
328:The fight
293:Greg Page
134:$ 125,000
688:4 August
684:. BoxRec
614:Country
352:Don King
302:Don King
237:The Ring
222:The Ring
206:Orthodox
203:Orthodox
137:$ 50,000
108:Hometown
97:Nickname
595:^Note 1
386:Method
376:Weight
313:at the
311:Atlanta
179:⁄
54:Georgia
50:Atlanta
648:
628:
559:10/10
532:10/10
505:10/10
478:10/10
453:10/10
422:15/15
392:Notes
389:Round
250:Result
189:Weight
164:Height
577:def.
550:def.
523:def.
496:def.
469:def.
442:def.
348:joint
200:Style
131:Purse
100:"TNT"
82:Boxer
42:Venue
846:vs.
690:2024
586:4/4
502:TKO
416:(c)
410:def
381:vs.
268:vs.
116:Ohio
34:Date
656:HBO
636:ITV
600:WBA
583:UD
556:SD
529:UD
475:UD
450:UD
419:MD
281:WBA
230:WBA
215:WBA
153:Age
66:WBA
904::
767:.
680:.
317:.
123:,
114:,
52:,
48:,
833:.
692:.
181:2
177:1
174:+
172:3
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