Chavez/Whitaker: October 1988

Difficult choice. :huh

 

Pernell Whitaker UD12 Julio Cesar Chavez

 

...remember the Duva's thought the fix was in vs Ramirez because they wouldn't sign to meet Chavez later that year. I may lean to Chavez here. Tough choice.

 

Styles make fights. Whitaker would always have beaten Chavez. I will freely admit, Chavez at lightweight was much better, but so was Whitaker.

Chavez's compact and tight technical style doesn't match up well against Whitaker, who's punches flowed with more ease at lightweight. Chavez was always a measured fighter, whatever weight he fought. Whitaker's movement was much better as well two divisions south.

Even though both fighters would at the top of their game at lightweight, with increased levels in speed and agility. I'm not saying only Whitaker would be quicker, because Chavez would be quicker as well. Foot and handspeed. But those improved attributes would further enhance Whitaker's effectiveness rather than Chavez's.

 

While no one will ever confuse Whitaker as lightweight for a KO artist. He had a reasonable amount of power as a lightweight. He was just as skilled and probbly faster at 135 than he was at 147. The only thing I can think of that he lacked at 135 compared to 147 is experance.
I think Chavez/Whitaker in October 1988 would be a lot like their bout in 1993. Mabey a little closer Whitaker 8 rounds Chavez 4

 

Chavez would be too much for Whitaker then.

 

Being a slick boxer Whitaker's style was more P4P friendly. When Whitaker went up in weight it didn't effect him as much because he didn't rely on the power of his punches to wear his man down. Chavez on the other hand did. Chavez's style just didn't favor moving up in weight. Thus it is quite conceivable that Chavez could have beaten him at LW. That does not mean he would have though, just that he would have had a better chance at LW. At WW Whitaker was obviously superior.

 

Whitaker was better at welterweight than he was at lightweight. He fought a wild fight with Nelson and Mayweather and was too passive against Ramirez. Whitaker was still developing. He had yet become the master he would become at welterweight. Chavez, on the other hand, was at his peak in 1988, having cleaned out two divisions. Imagining Chavez struggling with Nelson is difficult, and we all know that he didn't have much trouble with Ramirez. Chavez blew Mayweather away, the same Mayweather who would later shake Whitaker up worse than any other opponent shook him. At lightweight Chavez was a machine. Does anybody serious believe that Whitaker could have done to Rosario what Chavez did? Even at welterweight, with Chavez well beyond his prime, he still gave Whitaker the toughest fight of his prime. And this claim that Whitaker own Chavez at welterweight is ridiculous. Yeah, Whitaker won the fight, but what we saw - a peak Whitaker in a close fight with an old Chavez - showed us that a fight in 1988 would have been real trouble for Whitaker.

Whitaker was one of the best boxers ever. I would put him in the top ten best boxers ever. But in 1988, based on all the evidence, Chavez would have put a beating on him. Both are arguably the greatest boxers in the past several decades. I respect both tremendously. And without question Whitaker was robbed when they actually met.

One final comment for now. Am I detecting any animosity towards Chavez? We are all on the same page about what this legend accomplished, right? He was incredible. In his prime he comes as close to being unbeatable as any fighter I have ever seen or studied. He was simply phenomenal. I say this, because when I hear people say Whitaker owned Chavez, I wonder whether the hyperbole about Whitaker is not disguising animosity towards Chavez.

 

Pernell whitaker would school any pressure fighter, that style simply doesnt bother him, he clowns around with those kind of fighters. The type of person that would give pernell hell is another slick boxer or boxer-puncher. Meldrick taylor would have given pernell whitaker a hell of a fight, chavez would always get schooled, rosario and arguello would have been outboxed by him too.

 

:nono

Whitaker was a great welterweight, but an even greater lightweight. At 147, he didn't have the same speed of hand and foot. Whitaker's workrate dropped as he moved north and his reflexes slowed a bit as well.

 

I can't agree to any extent. Whitaker's speed and overall boxing ability was better at lightweight. His sharper reflexes made his defensive moves more effective.

Whitaker fought very controlled against Nelson. The fighter who fought a wild fight wasn't Whitaker, it was Nelson. He came forward throwing wide bombs from either hand behind a crossarmed defense. Whitaker's lateral movement and long spearing jabs were threaded through Nelson's guard like the eye of a needle. Whitaker dominated Nelson, and won his rounds convincingly. He played the percentage game well regarding balancing out his offense and defense.

I don't know who struggled with Nelson because it certainly wasn't Whitaker. And regarding Ramirez, well the first fight was one of the worst decisions in boxing history. The rematch was a one sided clinic beyond belief.

Whitaker could never have administered the pounding on Rosario that Chavez managed, of course he couldn't. Simply because he never had the same style to a similar job. Whitaker couldn't give Rosario the same type of beating, but he does have the skills to dominate him as well as Chavez did. Although in a different fashion. He'd dominate Rosario with crisp jabs, quick flurries inside, mixed in with powerful left hands. In more simplier terms, he'd box his ears off.

McGirt gave Whitaker his toughest fight. And I'd also say Rivera was much more effective than Chavez as well, but not sure when you consider Whitaker's prime, as he fought Rivera three years after Chavez. Its just crazy you even think his prime was at welterweight anyway. Whitaker and Chavez were both equally past their primes when they fought. As I said in my earlier post, both fighters would have been much quicker if they fought at lightweight. But the speed and agility enhances Whitaker's effectiveness more than Chavez's. Simply because his whole style was based on those attributes. Whitaker without question settled down on his punches as he moved up through the divisions, and became more easy to hit while doing so.

 

I thought the Whitaker Chavez fight that did happen was a piece of **** and that a draw was justified.

And I also don't care what any honk wants to tell me about it as I was there and not watching it on the tv.

In 88, I would say it would be the same crappy fight with a slight edge more to Chavez.

 

Why? Whitaker was making Chavez miss and landing more punches as well as the cleaner punches. He was displaying the greater ring generalship and defense. Chavez was coming forward, but his aggression was ineffective for the most part.

 

Chavez was competitive during some spells, but he was made to look ineffective for the vast majority of the fight. Whitaker never just boxed well against him, he also outpunched Chavez.