would the results have been any different? I've seen people claim that Chavez was past his best and that is the reason Pea looked so dominate. How do you guys feel?
Both great fighters, Pea was just better. Point blank, flat out, the superior technician in most every area. Its not shame, because Whitaker should be considered in Willie Pep's tier as a nightmare boxer to deal with. I don't think Chavez can beat Whitaker, honestly. 2 years makes little difference.
I know most on here feel the result would still be the same (I mean Pea winning clear, not the bs draw) but I feel both right at their prime would be a razor close fight, Chavez defensive reflexes & speed were a better then & those were a big problem in the actual fight in sept 93.
So, you would pick Chavez to win? I honestly didn't see some problems Chavez presented that you did when they fought.
Nowhere near as much tho, just look at their performances that followed their fight, Whitaker put on a masterclass vs Cardona & Mcgirt, became a 4 weight champ vs the much bigger Vasquez & gave prime DLH a 50/50 fight in 97, four years after the Chavez fight.... Julio lost to ****in Frankie Randall about 3 fights later, something that would never have happened near his best. Chavez & Whitaker were the 2 best fighters since Sugar Ray Leonard & there is not a great deal between them historically or at their best h2h.
Mmmm... I honestly don`t know who I would pick to win, I just think it would be extremely great & competitive, most on here don`t see it that way... I think even with very good judges it would still be a debatable decision, I don`t see domination either way in this fight, 2 elite ATG fighters.
Even at their best, Chavez is hittable and Pernell is one of the 10 or 11 toughest fighters to hit in the history of this sport. Both ATG's, both amazing, both gifted, both legendary, and both supremely skilled, but I struggled to imagine a scenario where Chavez stops Pea, or Pea doesn't outland him significantly. I scored their actual fight wide. I bet in their primes it'd tighten because Chavez would come on hard and attempt not to be denied, but I still can't see him pulling the trick. I've seen most fighters from that area live, and Whitaker is, quite frankly, the most pleasing pure boxer I have ever seen operate 10 feet in front of my face. I think they are on similar tiers in resume and head to head potential(Being the very highest tier), but matched together, Pea has more answers for Chavez then Chavez has for Pea.
Btw, Emmanuel Steward, who trained Chavez for a spell, believes guys like Frankie Randall give Chavez trouble any time, and I agree. He found a way to win in most cases, but fast, slick, boxing oriented guys gave Chavez issues. He's an amazing fighter and a h2h monster, but far from stylistically invincible.