Who were you picking leading to the bout? Did you think chavez would punish whitaker just like rosario, taylor and camacho? Did you think Whitaker was going to outbox chavez that easily? In your honest opinions?
I thought Chavez would win a ud after a slow start. That was not peak weight for Chavez and Whitaker was great defensively I knew that going in, but Chavez had this mythic aura at that time and I just believed he would find away to catch Pernell and do enough to win a clear decision. I was wrong. Watching it live I felt it was blatant robbery. But since then I have gone back and watched it and while I still believe Whitaker deserved the win I was surprised that each round seemed more competitive than I originally remembered.
Whitaker all the positives of those 3 fighters without the negatives that caused them to lose to Chavez, he was great defensively as was Rosario but didn`t stand in front of Chavez the way Edwin did, he had the speed of Taylor without standing upright after throwing flashy combos and he used a lot of footwork like Camacho but unlike Hector he knew how to stop Chavez cutting off the ring so I knew Whitaker would do well.
I'm not sure how some people think the Chavez fight was particularly close. I didn't see much close about it seeing now or the 10 other times I've watched it.
I favored Whitaker. Especially since the fight was not at 140 lbs and Chavez had done nothing above 140 lbs. This fight would have been tougher for Whitaker if it took place a few years earlier and at a lower weight. Still, he put on a great performance and certainly deserved the decision. Duva was involved with many controversial "losses" or "draws" facing Latin American favorites. Rocky Lockridge/Wilfredo Gomez Whitaker/Ramirez I Whitaker/JC Chavez It's not easy going against Don King and Jose Suiliman.
Well, Camacho was five years past his best when he fought Chavez. The 135 lb peaking version could prevent elite fighters from cutting off the ring. Watch Jose Luis Ramirez follow him fruitlessly for 12 rounds. He even dropped the iron chinned Ramirez. I know Chavez was better than Ramirez but Hector was way past it by '92 when he fought Chavez.
Fight was in San Antonio I believe. Thought Chavez would win...because who would want to see the Alamodome destroyed by the "locals" if Chavez lost. (So the decision was a MD)
I expected Chavez to win, as did the majority of fans it seemed. People were even questioning if JCC could get to 100-0. Chavez was moving up in weight against the #2 P4P fighter and a 2-1 betting favorite. That's how highly regarded Chavez was.
