Former World Heavyweight Champion’s Bold Prediction, One Sided Outlook on Naoya Inoue vs Nery Showdown
As the plane was getting ready to land, I noticed that Philadelphia below was covered in white. The snow had been cleared from the runway, but the city was completely silver.
It’s been two years since we’ve had heavy snow in Philly.
The old man sitting next to me spoke to me in a whisper.
Cowering in the 2°C cold, I rent a car at the Philadelphia International Airport and drive 45 km northeast. I was headed to the home of a former world heavyweight champion in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
The ill-fated champion praised Naoya Inoue.
Oh, you’ve come a long way.
Tim Witherspoon (66) greeted me at the door of his two-bedroom apartment. On the sofa in the living room, a green championship belt was displayed. He had won the WBC heavyweight title in March 1984. About nine months before that, he had challenged the veteran champion for the same belt and lost by a 1-2 split decision, even though he had the upper hand in the fight.
When Tim wrapped the WBC heavyweight belt around his waist, the fight money announced by the media was $250,000. However, he actually received only $44,640. Promoter Don King, 92, naturally undercut Tim’s guarantee every time.
Sickened by such treatment, Tim lost his motivation to fight. Despite his exceptional talent, he was unable to build a long-term regime, losing his WBC heavyweight belt in his first defense and the WBA title he later won in his second defense. He remained active until the age of 45 because he did not know how else to make money. Despite his advanced age, he was ranked No. 9 in the world until a few months before his last match, and showed immense defensive skills.
Tim has been keeping an eye on the “Japanese Monster” Naoya Inoue, and has seen all of his fights over the past few years. This time, I decided to ask him to predict his fight with Luis Nery, which will be held at Tokyo Dome on May 6th.
Inoue is a really good boxer. It’s no wonder that various media outlets have named him the Fighter of the Year and pound-for-pound in 2023. He’s confident in himself. Whoever he fights. I don’t think he’ll lose either. He’s at his peak right now.
I can tell from his every move that he’s a well-trained, strong man who is strong in himself. His explosive destructive power is really attractive. His confidence is building with each fight. His two fights against Nonito Donaire and the Paul Butler fight, which lasted a little longer, were at bantam, but he moved up to super bantam against Steven Fulton and then Marlon Tapales, and he’s even more awesome.
Tim, who grew up on the south side of Philadelphia, connected on Fulton, a junior champion from his hometown, saying, Poor guy, he got ripped to shreds.
We asked the former world heavyweight champion to watch some footage of Nery. First, Tim saw his two fights against Shinsuke Yamanaka and then against Carlos Payano.
For a bantam, my first impression is that he has a thick body.For this class, he probably has more power.Until the fight with Payano, he had 29 wins, 23 KOs.
But it can’t compare to Inoue’s speed. The back step is slow. Plus, his guard is low and his swings are big. I can’t really say that his movements are natural. There’s no flexibility in the front legs either.
