HBO Unification series - Upsets.. Death threats...Stripping..Failed drug tests..

The Heavy unification series was formed in October 85...Most probably then because Larry had been upset by Spinks and he was cherry picking so in all likelihood wouldn't be interested...

The Champions who agreed to participate Tubbs...Spinks...Thomas all had to defend their belts against their top contenders and then the WBA fought the WBC .. Winner fought the IBF....But all great plans..

Originally it was devised to showcase Thomas who after beating Witherspoon and destroying Weaver was supposed to be the next great Heavy...(Tyson was little known and on Cable)...

Straight off the bat however Tubbs put on weight and lost a decision to Witherspoon.....Thomas then fought like a Zombie and lost his belt to Berbick and Tyson became the hottest property in the Heavy division over the six months it took to get to this point...Thomas v Berbick being delayed..

It was decided to have Tyson in the tournament which gave Spinks and Witherspoon defences against Tanstad and Bruno (Spinks had robbed Holmes in a return which was "good" for the tournament.

This is when the series started to go wrong...Berbick peed off over his pay for Tyson threatened to leave for a fight with Cooney...King upped his pay and then found that Berbick was bluffing all along...Witherspoon after beating Bruno was forced into a Tubbs rematch after Tubbs wouldn't give up on the rematch clause and Butch Lewis Spinks manager wanted out.

Tubbs then failed a drugs test weeks before the fight and Bonecrusher replaced him who was due to fight Mitch Green...Green was apoplectic and threatened to kill Don King at the Smith v Witherspoon press conference pleading poverty and double cross...Don King moaned it was the third time he had threatened his life..

Witherspoon didn't want to fight saying fighting for King was costing him money....Apparently he got 100k of his 1.5m Bruno purse.. The rest was taken on expenses..

Tyson duly beat Berbick...But an uninterested Witherspoon lost to no name Smith who both he and Tubbs had both beaten comfortably before.. The IBF then stripped Spinks who fought Cooney instead...and he was replaced by the no name Tucker..

The HBO tournament limped to its conclusion...

The expected Spinks v Thomas final a distant memory..and quite amazingly all the Champions and Challengers involved at the start weren't there at the end !!!