The fight was fiercely contested when they collided heads, opening a large cut over Chávez's eyebrow in the seventh round. After the head cut, during round eight, the referee called for the doctor, who then stopped the fight. Under WBC rules, Randall lost one point, giving Chávez the technical victory. The two faced one another in a rubber match 10 years later, which Chávez won.
Okay. Nobody cared about the rubber match. My original point, was that Whittaker fought Chavez and should have been awarded the victory. And I don’t believe that that version of Chavez was washed out. We’ve gone off course here. We need to get back to the topic. Joe was a great fighter. But he wasn’t as skilled as Pea, and Pea took fights that Joe wouldn’t have taken. Therefore, despite Joe being undefeated, IMHO, Pea was the better SMW.
Calzaghe was an awesome southpaw. Styles make fights and Joe beat everyone put in front of him. The Hopkins win was a testament to Joes skills. Bernard was still a brilliant fighter who could give anyone of any era trouble. Joe trained for that fight and went into it carrying injuries, as he did most of his career. It’s difficult comparing sometimes, but for me, Joe could live with anyone from any era.
Joe never moved up in weight and beat somebody as good as Jorge Linares. Loma would never lose if he fought 20 Antony Crollas in a row
Whitaker did great to hold even a washed out partied out Chavez to a draw. He deserves immense credit for that. Does that make him as good as the guy who went 46-0? I guess not.