after Whitaker, who is the greatest of past 20 years

RJJ's P4P opponents: James Toney. Toney was considered a top 4 P4P by nearly everyone when RJJ dominated him. It's the best win of his career.

PBF: Ricky Hatton. Hatton was a top 10 in most people's eyes when Floyd KTFO Hatton. Corrales & Castillo would later occasionally come up into the top 10, but neither were when they fought PBF.

Sweet Pea: Julio Cesar Chavez. Buddy McGirt. Azumah Nelson. Chavez was considered along with Pea to be a top 2 P4P, with most picking Chavez before their fight. Buddy McGirt was a top 5 P4P when Pea took the lineal 147lbs title from him, and did not drop from top 5 until his 2nd loss to Whitaker, in which he was outclassed. Azumah Nelson was a top 10 P4P when Pea clearly outpointed him, he dropped off after the draw with Fenech, but came back in when he KTFO Fenech.

 

Elaborate on Nelson-Fenech draw? sure, Nelson got a bull**** gift in a fight he lost. That's why he was dropped out of the top 10. They had a rematch, Nelson dominated, and then KTFO Fenech. He then came back in the top 10. Sorry man, I just asumed that any knowledgable boxing fan knew what happened there.

 

The problem with RJJ never fighting DM is that DM was THE champion of the division. He beat Hill after Hill unified the division and before RJJ beat Hill, and obviously some people are commenting about what they don't know, because DM clearly beat Hill. I beleive Roy would have beaten him, But DM was a talented and skilled boxer. He was no Svenn Ottke if that's what your trying to imply.

That's not the reason why Sweet Pea was the greater fighter though. RJJ was faster and had more power, but every single thing else a boxer should be able to do goes to Whitaker. Footwork, chin, versatility, jab, technique, etc.

Pernell has an edge in how they performed against truly elite fighters, how they performed against all the world class guys they fought, and how they each fared when both lost what made them dominant. At the stage of RJJ's career where he was being pasted by Tarver & Johnson, Whitaker was losing a close and controversial decision to a prime ODLH and then going all 12 rounds with a prime Trinidad. If you want to count who was more willing to fight the best as a catagory too, then that's another one Sweet Pea wins.

Despite how ultra-talented RJJ was, and despite his HOF and ATG worthy career, he doesn't have an edge over Whitaker in any catagory that decides who was the greater fighter.

 

I've seen the whole fight, Oscar did land the harder shots, but he's a naturally bigger, stronger, and harder hitting fighter. Pea wasn't just slapping him either, he was throwing power shots. And ODLH never hurt Pea in the fight so you can't say he won because he hit harder. The KD isn't impressive, but it's still a KD and the fact that it was a wide UD for ODLH even with the KD shows there was corruption involved, or favortism to a younger star fighter over a fading, past his best fighter. It was close, but like I said, Pea threw more, landed more, landed at a higher connect percentage, and scored the only official KD. Even if you thought he lost, you have to admit it was close, and if a faded Whitaker can keep it close and arguably beat a prime ODLH when he's 33 or 34 where as RJJ can't last with Tarver or Johnson when he's 34 or 35, who has the edge there.

Another thing about Whitaker is that it's easy to say a guy who is a master at hitting and not getting hit, like him or RJJ or PBF, aren't real fighters like guys such as Julio Cesar Chavez, or Roberto Duran, or Marvin Hagler, but watch Sweet Pea fight Felix Trinidad. Whitaker already had documented drug problems by then, had shown obvious signs of fading in his last 4-5 or even 6 fights, was coming off a year of inactivity due to the drug problems, and was fighting a guy who looks twice his size who just so happens to be a legitimate ATG and one of the most brutal punchers in the history of the 147lbs division, yet Whitaker was the aggressor throughout the first half of the fight and moments of the latter half, stepping forward and backing "Tito" up. That's a fighter, a real fighter. Despite all of his skill and craft and elusiveness, he was a real fighter. Neither RJJ or PBF can claim as much.