I`d make Chavez a slight favourite to beat Whitaker @ 135 lbs

87/88 version of Chavez would win a few more rounds, but Whitaker still beats him pretty much as was.

 

Where the hell are people getting the idea that Whitaker was stronger than Chavez in their fight? Just because he outweighed him by 3 pounds?

 

Yes, of course you're right about that, but I didn't express myself very well either.

 

Everything I have seen of both men makes me think Whitaker would definitely win.

- When they were both past-prime, Whitaker outboxed him comprehensively.

- When Chavez was closer to his prime, he was clearly outfought by Meldrick Taylor - and Whitaker was a better infighter than Taylor, had a better chin than Taylor, was almost as fast, had a better jab and better technical skill.

- When Whitaker was at his peak, his game proved perfect to beat pressure fighters, see the fight with the excellent Azumah Nelson for evidence

- When Whitaker was at his peak, he was in my opinion simply a superior fighter, he had greater skill, greater variety, and would have proved it v Chavez at any weight at any time.

:bbb

 

Nice one. Can't grumble with that assertion.

 

I'm not sure I agree with this...I'd still pick Pea (though not with much confidence!!)

However, I do think it's generally easier for fighters of Peas style too move up in weight and remain as effective than it is for someone like JCC.

 

that fight was a lot closer than your memories seem to remember. i had whitaker winning but not by much. whitaker won his rounds bigger but never 10-8 and most rounds were close. i certainly felt the overall trend and momentum of the fight favored sweat pea but the fact remains it was 12 mini-fights and many of those lackluster rounds were close. the emphatic rounds definitely went whitaker's way. and yeah, i was actually there for the fight so i had a different perspective at the time.

 

Agreed with everything you said......there were two rounds in that fight that were huge rounds for Whitaker.....meaning he won them emphatically with clean hard shots......most of the others had Whitaker in a high paced retreat, running circles at a high pace and stopping very seldom to throw punches with his feet planted......

.....my end scorecard had it 6 rounds a piece, but I've often said that if I had to chose a winner it would be Whitaker because he was the one that had those two rounds that he emphatically won.

......but as you know, boxing is scored round by round, and doing that on my card Chavez won 6 rounds.