DLH put on some of the most boring 'superfights' of all time. There might have been less drama in Whitaker fights, because he was outclassing guys in second gear, but take away the crowd and HBO nuthuggery from Oscar and his fights are very un-inspiring.
Well seen as though BoppaZoo seems to have gone into hiding, then here's Sweet Pea's input. BoppaZoo 'you're done'
According to Boppazoo, everyone is a worthless piece of **** in boxing except, Ali, Robinson, Leonard, Tzsyu, Duran and the rest of the 'Usual Suspects' .. Boppazoo is a guy with some pretty radical opinions ..... I love the way he includes Tzsyu in his list of all time greats but totally shits on Pernell and Floyd ?? Whats that about ?? Im frightened to bring up Wilfredo Gomez or Salvador Sanchez with this guy, he'd just say that these 2 were the biggest bum low lives on the planet ..... Boppazoo we need guys like you on here, radical opinions make the debates flow, i personally think your nuts but thats just my opinion !
Pernell Whitaker is with out a doubt the best fighter of the 90's, and with little doubt the greatest fighter since Ray Leonard. Whitaker is the best defensive fighter ever. Whitaker gets this nod for me not just for his ability to make opponents miss, but for his offense as well. Many people like to argue that the greatest defense is a good offense. Pernell Whitaker gives an example of both sides of that argument. Whitaker made people miss like few others, but also put his punches together like few others. Whitaker's offense is what makes his overall defense better than Pep's in my view. I do not hold Whitaker's power, or lack there of, in the same view as most. Due to his extensive amateur career, Whitaker took on a higher caliber of professional fighters earlier than most. Whitaker was 11-0 when he fought Roger Mayweather, and 15-0 when he began facing divisional champions. Whitaker's ko percentage will obviously be less than that of someone taking a more conservative approach. The fact that he backed Chavez up the way he did at times tells me as much about his power as anything. Ask Diosbelys Hurtado how it feels to be hit by Whitaker.
He was never questioning the ability of Pea. He just said he doesn't find him entertaining? I can understand that. I like Pernell. I think his resume speaks for itself, and has in all likeliness been robbed of a few scalps. That said, I would never say he was a better fighter than Sugar Ray Leonard. That's a purists opinion.
Great fighter but a bit over-rated. He had the easy road with Oly success and often got by on mere clowning for the judges. Rarely forced the issue in his fights and got gift decisions later on. I am nitpicking but with good cause. A great fighter. Not quite in the same league as the very greatest.
This is an honest post, and I can respect that. Whitaker's style wasn't going to please everyone. Even at the height of his powers less talented fighters were getting more ink. What can you do?
Hopefully at some point the kid gavlian 2 fight footage surfaces to prove this point as from all reports i've read robinson when he changed styles and started to use lateral movement won mainly with the control of his jab. Robinson jab is a bit of a weird one for me, its probably the only punch which he doesn't throw 'correctly' but it was so effective when he decided to use this, maybe as much to do with his judgement of range and lateral movement and footwork which are possibly the best ever which help to make i difficult for fighters to counter it but when he used his jab he could control fighters very well. Also in his usual offesve mode it set up all his other punches perfectly, was it better than whitakers i'm not sure possibly not, but it was still very effective. I agree with the earlier posts that whitaker was better than robinson on the inside, he was
I understand where the thread-starter is coming from. A while ago I was re-watching Pea-Ramirez II and I remember thinking that there's no way any fighter in history could be any better than that. Due to his lack of power and the fact the old-timers have deeper resumes, he'll never be recognised as #1 - but I firmly believe at his best he was as good as anyone who ever laced them up. His inside-fighting has quite rightly been praised - I think he was a fairly solid puncher to the body, he really sat down on his body punches and most of his opponents seemed to really feel them. He was almost perfect.
Another thing about Pernell - looking back I find it incredible how accomplished he was when he first stepped into a pro ring. I know all about his amateur career but his transition to the paid ranks was seamless - I honestly think if he'd been thrown into an ABC Title fight for his debut, there's a very good chance he could have won it. It's hard to think of many fighters who were so good so quickly. Tszyu is the only other guy who springs to mind recently.