Smith Crushes Witherspoon in First : ‘Substitute,’ Winner on 3 Knockdowns, Will Face Tyson

James (Bonecrusher) Smith, who got the fight as a substitute, knocked down Tim Witherspoon three times in the first round to win the World Boxing Assn. heavyweight championship Friday night before 5,042 fans at Madison Square Garden.

The shockingly quick victory in the scheduled 15-round bout sent Smith into a March 7 fight against unbeaten Mike Tyson, the World Boxing Council champion, as part of the HBO heavyweight unification series.

The third knockdown came with 48 seconds left in the round, and when Witherspoon hit the canvas, referee Luis Rivera ended the bout under the three-knockdown rule.

Smith, who was chosen for the fight after Tony Tubbs withdrew with an injured left shoulder, came out firing, and Witherspoon never had a chance to adjust.

The 228 1/2-pound Smith hurt Witherspoon, a flabby 233 1/2, with the first punch of the fight, a right to the head. Witherspoon sank to one knee, but Rivera did not rule it a knockdown.

Seconds later, a left-right pushed Witherspoon through the ropes with 1:46 left. Witherspoon was up at five but went down after a right to the head 23 seconds later.

Witherspoon was up at four the second time, but another right to the head put him down again, forcing Rivera to stop the bout.

With the victory, Smith, 31, avenged a lopsided, 12-round loss by decision to Witherspoon 18 months ago. On Nov. 9, 1984, Smith was stopped in 12 rounds by Larry Holmes in an International Boxing Federation title bout.

Smith, of Magnolia, N.C., improved to 19-5 with 14 knockouts, while Witherspoon, of Philadelphia, fell to 25-3.

“I really wasn’t into the fight,” Witherspoon said. “I wanted to win but I couldn’t get into it. Bonecrusher caught me (with) some good shots, and you can’t take that from him.”

The defeat was a costly one. Witherspoon’s purse for a fight against the exciting Tyson was to have been $1 million. His purse Friday night was $300,000 to Smith’s $200,000.

In another heavyweight fight, 1984 Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs, 220, of Philadelphia, knocked down Renaldo Snipes, 219 1/2, of Yonkers, N.Y., on the way to a unanimous decision that raised his record to 13-0.

Also, Mexico’s Julio Cesar Chavez ran his record to 51-0 and retained his WBC super-featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Juan LaPorte. Chavez weighed 129, LaPorte 128 3/4.