Taking opponent quality into account, I think its the 2nd Buddy Mcgirt fight in 1994... this was the last of the REAL Sweet Pea, the p4p king Sweet Pea. Mcgirt was ranked by some as p4p no2, easily top 5 on everyone`s list & gave Pea his closest fight in yrs (maybe ever) only a year earlier & claimed he had fought Pea with one arm. Both had a point to prove. Everybody expected a close fight between 2 masters but after a couple of feeling out rds & even taking a flash KD in rd 2, Pea started to pull away & produced a complete masterclass in the art of boxing from about rd 3 or 4 onwards. I love how he clearly beat Chavez but Julio was always there til the end & some rds were close... Nelson got dominated but the fact he was 31 & wasnt a LWT could be an argument.... Ramirez II & Haugen were sheer shutout masterclasses but again neither had Mcgirts quality. Whitaker-Mcgirt II gets my vote :good
In the second Ramirez he was unhittable and constantly came back with fast combos against Ramirez. So that imo is his greatest performance.
I've always thought Ramirez II. He avenged his prior (albeit controversial) loss and showed obvious improvement from their first fight. His right hook was absolutely wicked in that fight.
I always used to think that, its still one of my ALL TIME favourite masterclasses but McGirt was a superior boxer to Ramirez & Whitaker was 31 vs McGirt at 147, he was at his peak at 25/26 at his best weight of 135 vs Ramirez who had been around the block & back again several thousand times. Judging by performance AND opponent, I think the McGirt performance even eclipses Chavez & Nelson. Haugen was just in the same mold as the Ramirez fight... an utter man v boy match-up, beautiful to watch as a Pea fan.
Really ? :huh It was nice for history & all, Pea joining SRL, Duran & Hearns as the only men to win titles in 4 weights but I think he looked like **** compared to his usual standard at 154 vs Vasquez TBH.
I liked his showing against Pineda though it is very hard to argue if this may be his "best" performance.
I certainly wouldnt say that was Pea's prettiest performance but considering all the factors it has to go down as one of his better wins..not his best IMO, probably not quite top 3 but up there. Vasquez was a bull strong and mean 154 pounder..Quite underrated actually and considering Pea was so far away from his best weight and likely pretty coked up by that stage, to still come out a very clear winner really shows how good this guy was.
I like Haugan complete defensive and offensive masterclass even dropping Haugan to stamp his authority on it. I also think Pernell was better at Lightweight. but its close i could watch Pea's best performances all day.
I'd edge towards McGirt II over Haugen due to Buddy's quality. I love the Harold Brazier fight aswell, something that fully showcased Whitaker's amazing offensive skills.
I have 90% of Pernell's career on DVD and Ramirez 2 wins hands down. If I could rewrite history De La Hoya would be an option and I'm a huge Oscar fan
Agreed, but styles and the merely good ability of Haguen made Whitaker look really good. Maybe Haugen was Whitaker's best performance, but it wasn't among his top 3 wins. Props to Whitaker. He could make his man miss as well as anyone.