Pernell Whitaker V ..?

I don't think he was noticeably weaker at 140 than at 135, he just didn't spend enough time there. His game wasn't built on power so the only question is whether he could be outhustled and outmuscled with the extra pounds.

He coped with it well enough at WW and he was a noticeably small 147 pounder. I think he'd beat Tszyu, and he might even outpoint Cervantes.

Pryor is a hard one to call and so is Pacquiao. Pac Man had the speed and he definitely carried the power up but Whitaker's defense would have made it tough to land consistently. I'm picking Whitaker to beat Pacquiao.

Whitaker, like Napoles before him, might have been one of the best fighters ever at light-welterweight, just not someone who spent long enough there to make a historical impression, which is a shame.

 

Sweet Pea:
Beats Tszyu in a UD
Wins a split dec. against Cervantes
Gets outhustled by Pryor losing a disputed dec.
Wins a comfortable UD against Manny.

 

Kostya has a good chance to win either by KO or a Dec afforded to him by KD's.

Pea wins the chess match against Cervantes

Pryor loses a disputed majority decision outhustling Pea for many rounds with the one I mixed. Many think it is a gift to Whitaker because of his recent death and Pryor points out rightly that he is just as dead and deserves that benefit also.

Pea has Manny swinging at air for 15 rounds.

 

Funny enough, the one fighter I'm most comfortable he beats is KT.

 

Totally agree. Although I would make Pernell a slight favorite over the other 3 men, I would make him a HEAVY favorite over Tszyu. As long as Pernell took the fight seriously, he would outclass Tszyu. Hell, prime Tszyu struggled with a shot version of the Roger Mayweather that was soundly beaten by Pernelll and Chavez years before.

of all these men, I give Pryor the best shot based on his insane workrate.

 

Pacquiao and Pryor are the only ones on the list that have a slight chance against Whitaker due to their workrate, speed, and unorthodox style.

 

Whitaker would have beaten every fighter on that list.

He'd have beaten Tszyu very easily.

 

Tszyu's overrated ass doesn't have a prayer against Pea.

Whitaker is not Mitchell or Judah.

 

I knew everyone would dismiss Kostya but he has the great equalizer here. A compact, laser precise right hand with lots of kick. Also, he developed a brutal body attack that would definitely tell.

Kostya remains so underrated in these parts. You needed to be physically stronger than him to beat him. And well, Pea just wasn't.

 

So you see KT outboxing Pea or stopping? KT wasn't some ring general with otherworldly ring IQ, so I see no way he tries to box with Pea and has even a chance at a decision win. Could he somehow get a TKO, I guess it's more likely than a decision for me, but again I just don't see it. Pea being a SP would already make KT's best weapon not quite as strong, and then he'd just further take it away with his movement. You might as well forget about KT's right hand. It will get taken away from round 1 onwards.

 

I strongly disagree with that. Whitaker was in fact physically stronger than Tszyu.

Tszyu had a lot of tools, but to me he lacked substance when compared to any all time greats.

It's almost insulting to suggest that he could beat a top 20 all time great.

 

Sweet Pea beats them all, fairly soundly IMO.

 

You get points for bouncing your opponent off the canvas.

And as a southpaw myself, I knew too well that a very straight right hand was a great weapon. It gets there quickly.