Great work. I love this fight and enjoyed reading your article. I might re-watch the bout thanks to it
Very well-written and erudite read, and yes, Pernell won in every way a fight can be won. It is one of several reasons that I will NEVER, EVER accept De La Hoya as a great fighter. He was a pretty good fighter who had the help of cherry-picking and judges from an adoring boxing community. Whenever he stepped up, he lost, even when the cards said he won. As for Pernell, a first-tier great who was screwed out of his legacy.
Neither did much of anything. I don't rate defense. I only rate offense. Crediting defense alone is not for me. Defense is obviously extremely useful but not getting hit alone doesn't win fights. You have to hit back. Same with connect rate. If your opponent has the stamina to throw 1000 punches and he lands 100 and you throw 100 and land 90, all other things being equal, like power, the guy that landed 100 wins for me. I'm not saying this fight is the case but I see defense getting credit by itself sometimes and I don't agree.
What I have written, I have written. He beat the Paez and Ruelas types, and shot Chavez, and lost to guys like Trinadad and Whitiker (regardless of what the official scorecards say).