Ringside Report: Witherspoon KO’s Human Cannonball

In a bizarre heavyweight bout which was the preliminary to the Dorin Spivey-Victor Vasquez main event on a nine bout boxing card at Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Saturday night, February 4, 2012, heavyweight Chazz Witherspoon scored a crazy second round knockout of 40 year old, 295 pound human cannonball David Saulsberry of Greenville, Kentucky.

The bout was billed as being for the mysterious vacant International Boxing Syndicate North American Continental heavyweight title, and a belt was flashed at ringside.

It should be stated by this reporter, a self-taught expert on fighters, fights, belts and rankings in his fifth decade, considers that some professional boxing titles are lacking in credulity recently, and this strange bout was no exception to the rule. The bout started and ended on a frightening note.

Witherspoon, age 30, 30-2 with 22 knockouts, weighed in at 234.5 pounds, giving away 60 pounds to opponent David ‘The Human Cannonball’ Saulsberry, who scaled a whacky 295 pounds, which is more the super heavyweight division of Nicolai Valuev.

It appeared Saulsberry would have been more appropriate as an opponent for Gabe ‘The Human Hamburger’ Brown, who turns 40 on March 6 of this year, a 354 pounder who is winless in his last 14 professional bouts, but who has a similar appetite.

The press and the crowd watching this strange scene knew something wild was going to happen. In Saulsberry’s 11 pro bouts going back to 2005, all of them ended in decisive knockouts. Seven were knockouts for Saulsberry, four were against him and all were within the first three rounds.

The first round looked like something out of the local Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, located just a short walking mile northward on the adjacent Atlantic City beach boardwalk.

The ‘Human Cannonball’ plodded forward looking for a stationary target. Witherspoon, somewhat confused, moved side to side and stayed as far away as possible. Saulsberry waited for Witherspoon to make a mistake. Several times, Chazz stopped moving in a corner or along the ropes, and nearly met his horrible doom as the human cannonball swung his sledge hammer monster fists and nearly found his petrified human target.

But there’s an old expression – the bigger they come, the harder they fall. Saulsberry is a one dimensional fighter; he moves forward and can swing only at a stationary target. Witherspoon, a college educated graduate of Seton Hall University, is quick, smart, and probably has a higher IQ than most pro fighters out there.

At the start of round two, Chazz had only two ways to go: remain defensive and tire the human cannonball out, or look for an opening on the 295 pound target and get him out of there. It can be said that ‘you don’t want to fool around’ with an opponent like this. True to form, Witherspoon closed the show, and the end was most ugly.

Witherspoon, who hits hard when he lands, managed to score with an overhand power right to the top of Saulsberry’s head. ‘The Human Cannonball’ fell face first knocked out at 0:42, causing the entire ring and ballroom to shake and quake when he landed on the canvas, causing this reporter to pop upward from his chair!

The crowd gave Witherspoon a standing ovation cheer to the bout’s brutal ending. The bogus title belt and the knockout of ‘The Human Cannonball’ is not likely to advance Witherspoon in the North American and world heavyweight rankings, but as many a boxing trainer would tell you, a win’s a win. Today’s military armies of the world don’t fight with cannonballs anymore-but evidently some fighters in the ring still do.

Chazz Witherspoon is a true gentleman and a popular draw in Atlantic City! Chazz does however need to pick up the level of his opposition one notch in the near future.

Before the main event, a moment of silence was observed for former world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali’s trainer Angelo Dundee and New York-New Jersey referee Wayne Kelley (best known for refereeing Riddick Bowe-Andrew Golota I heavyweight bout which ended in the now infamous riot).

Celebrities in attendance included former super featherweight, lightweight and light welterweight world champion Joey Gameche, and former IBF light middleweight champion Buster Drayton. Buster won the IBF title by 15 round decision at the Meadowlands over Carlos Santos in 1986. He lost it to 26-0 Matthew Hilton at The Forum in Montreal, Canada in 1987. Incredibly, Drayton, now age 57, returned to the ring last week in a exhibition in Philadelphia against Philadelphia police officer Floyd ‘Sugar Boy’ Richards on the undercard of Dhafir Smith versus Quinton Rankin. Drayton and Richards both work at Veteran’s Hospital in Center City.

Result: Chazz Witherspoon KO 2 David Saulsberry, heavyweights (0:42)
vacant International Boxing Syndicate North American Continental Championship
Referee: Allan Huggins. 295 lb. Saulsberry outweighed Witherspoon by 60 pounds.

Preliminary Bouts

Frankie Filipone Win 6 Harley Kilfian, Light Heavyweights
Scoring: 58-56, 58-56, 59-55 Filippone. Bout much closer than scoring indicates.

Nydia Feliciano Win 4 Ela Nunez, Female Featherweights
Scoring: 39-36, 39-36, 39-36 Feliciano. 2 minute rounds. Nydia’s head jabs won it.

Dennis Hasson TKO 3 William Santiago, Cruiserweights (1:31) Hasson now 12-0.

Joey Tiberi Win 4 Steve Cox, Lightweights
Scoring: 40-36, 40-36, 40-36 Tiberi. Many jabs by Tiberi scored. Cox hung tough.

Dorsett Barnwell Win 4 Joe Bolden, Heavyweights
Scoring: 39-37-39-37, 39-37 Barnwell. Questionable decision. Barnwell now 6-0.

Isiah Seldon KO 2 Ken Moody Jr., Super Middleweights (1:41)
Seldon, the son of former world heavyweight champion Bruce Seldon, is now 6-0.

Keenan Smith Win Majority Decision 4 Chris Finley, Super Featherweights
Scoring: 38-38 Draw. 39-37, 39-37 Smith. Close bout. Southpaw Smith now 4-0.