Witherspoon was a tough Philadelphia fighter; He was very strong, a hard hitter and ranked among the best during his career; During his career, he won the WBC Heavyweight Championship of the World and the WBA Heavyweight Championship of the World. For his first World Title. Witherspoon was matched with Page for the vacant title on March 9, 1984. Page, in constant war with promoter Don King, turned up overweight and was outpointed in a close, mauling fight. Witherspoon's second reign as a Heavyweight champion saw him travel to London, England and defend his title against hard hitting local Frank Bruno in front of 60,000 fans. After a tough, bruising fight, Witherspoon came from behind to stop Bruno in the 11th, retaining his title.