A prime Pernell Whittaker.

Whitaker is right up there with the best fighters i've seen on film, Robinson comes out at the top for me, but pernell is very close behind along with other like duran, leonard, charles(from the marshall fight).

We all know how good whitaker was as a defensive fighter so i'm not going to dwell on that side too much, however offensively he was far better than some people give him credit for being. Works everything so well from behind his jab which was as good as any. His inside fighting is top notch and he always had a very high workrate when you combine that with how good his defence was it was very difficult to outland him. Also his work to the body is great, while whitaker was not a power puncher he could get your respect espicially when he went downstairs. Below 147 i would only make duran favourite to beat him ad that in itself would be close

A truly fantastic fighter

 

Whitakter was very skilled at making his man miss. He was one of the few fighters that could demoralize his opponents on defense alone. Whitatker had great speed and accuracy. Whitakers greatest threat was......3 blind men posing as boxing judges.

Whitaker was flat out robbed vs Rameriez. Somehow the judges felt Ramirez won their first fight. This has to be one of the worst calls in a modern title fight.

Lighting stuck twice on Whitaker's legacy fight. I had him up 8 to 4 vs Julio Cesar Chavez but the judges called it a draw!

While I don't think Whitaker was the best ever, he was a top ten ATG at his weight.

 

If we are talking purely about ability rather than results, I think he's probably just behind Duran, Ray Leonard and Armstrong as the best fighter I've ever seen on film. Maybe Robinson and Pep and Gans and Benny Leonard and Jim Driscoll and Packey McFarland and Harry Greb and Charley Burley had more ability, but we can't tell via watching film of them.

As far as skill goes, I'd say he's probably the best I've seen on film. What draws me to like him above all else though is his artistry. Whitaker was not only a skillful fighter, he had an ability to improvise, create and do the unpredictable. No fighter other than Nicolino Locche (and alas there's not enough of him on film to savour) makes me laugh, look on in disbelief and wonder if what I'm watching is supernatural. He is one of the very few boxing geniuses and there's no one I've watched more, or would rather watch more of the guys that have their careers filmed.

If he did have more power I agree with the others that said we should close this thread.

 

Whitakers style was based around his slight lack of power. He used his southpaw stance, short height and speed BRILLIANTLY. But would he have boxed like that if he hit like Julian Jackson? NO. I dont think he could keep Duran or even a LIGHTWEIGHT chavez off of him, but despite this i still feel he deserves a top 20 all time place. He was great but that lack of power means he doesnt really have a defining moment/ KO in his career. Ok i'm not the greatest sweet pea fan but i cant remember a certain moment from his career where i thought WOW, like you get with a robinson, ali, even a pacquiao ( dont get angry for tht last one lol) It was more an accumalation of masterful performances. I think in the end his style inhibits him from being number one, or even top 5. I have him somewhere 13-20 but if you enjoy pure boxing then a top 10 spot is conceivable.

 

stevebhoy87.
Guys i would favour to beat whitaker at 135 or 140. Although there arent any i think aaron pryor would overwhelm him and duran would break his will, I also genuinely believe the quicker sharper chavez at 135 would give him hell. He beats everyone else though

 

IMO, thats what makes a truely great fighter. A fighter who can rely on sheer skill to win rounds, rather than knocking them out and relying on power most of the time. Although some fighters with knock out power have a certain amount of skill themselves to get into position to deliver it.

 

Getting smashed in town and still thinking about boxing were we?

 

Cool.

 

haha thats dedication

dedication

cant have been that bad :rofl


I like th thread by the way challenging conventional thoughts, ive been trying to do it aswell

Pernell Whittaker is a fighter who intrigues me. One of the best stylists i have ever seen. He had a bit of everything. Brilliant offensive skills with astonishing defensive skills. He had a high workrate and a decent chin.

Watching films you see hes one of the most gifted fighters ever but he does lack that power of other all time greats. From films we see his skillset is in the top 10 of boxing. He could adapt well and had the best jab ever IMO.

Is he the best?

No. I dont think he is.

Could he be the best?

Yes, if we could have saw him against other top top LWs and WWs we could be saying this guy was the best ever. His resume lets him down he didnt have the same challenges other greats had also he didnt have neough fights IMO.