Whatever Happened To Chazz Witherspoon?
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Correspondent
Philadelphia, PA(June 18th,2013)– Chazz Witherspoon is an intelligence heavyweight boxer with a college degree. He outboxed Seth Mitchell for one round, but did not move in the second round and got caught. Mitchell is a football player who is very strong, but as Johnathon Banks proved, Mitchell is not really a scientific boxer. It should have been Chazz who beat Mitchell first. Banks just executed better against Mitchell in Atlantic City than Chazz did.
Inactive since losing to Mitchell in April 2012, Witherspoon, 31, has a career record of 30-3 with 22 knockouts. He has the possibility of coming back and working his way back up again, but has to correct a number of ring habits which affected his ring performances against Mitchell, Tony Thompson, and Chris Arreola.
Firstly, Witherspoon has to move side to side and not offer a target. Second, Witherspoon has to recognize when an opposing heavyweight has greater power, as he has a tendency at times to slug it out with both superior and inferior opponents. Lastly, Chazz has to work harder to win rounds technically on points, as he has fast hands and good jabs with both hands, and can use these skills to eventually drop his opponent’s guard and win rounds in the bank.
I like Chazz, a local Atlantic City, New Jersey favorite. He is worthy of his nickname ‘The Gentleman’. But Chazz has to take some of this strong advice and take better satock of where he is right now. Style changes affect the game plan. Chazz is a professional boxer with an I.Q., and he still has all the potential in the world.
Chazz could also benefit from some serious power training, so as to better compete with the heavier hitters in the heavyweight division if and when he tries to comeback, and I hope he does. Chazz just needs to make some style changes. One strong feature Chazz has is he forces a strong and face pace which has wilted even the better boxers who try to outpoint him. Chazz can outlast them, and do better at a higher level of competition, if his corner would do some retraining and modify Chazz’ approach when fighting competition in the BoxRec top 25, from my viewpoint.
Chazz has one powerful asset other heavyweights do not have: Chazz has his mind.
Other fighters cannot change their style or technique. It isn’t always like Rocky II. How well Chazz can change his mind set to adapt his boxing ability to make changes will determine whether or not he still has a future. The rest is up to him.
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