Name me a better exhibition of punching than Whitaker vs McGirt II?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by horst, Jun 9, 2010.


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  1. horst

    horst Guest

    I watched this fight the other day, and really was blown away by Sweet Pea's punching. He was fighting a genuinely excellent opponent in Buddy, and many people were anticipating a life-and-death struggle after the closeness of the 1st fight and McGirt's shoulder complaint from that night. Yet Pea produced one of his greatest performances (probably his last great performance and his greatest non-lightweight performance), even though he was the naturally smaller man and the less powerful man, to really dominate the bout.

    OK, Pea suffered a KD, but the variety and accuracy of his punching throughout really do make this fight justify the description of a masterclass. Whitaker lands perfect left hooks, uppercuts, bodyshots, and combinations round by round - the technique he shows driving in hooks to the liver, the accuracy of landing flush left hooks continually on a defensively astute opponent, the eye-catching single punches like the uppercut which makes Larry Merchant exclaim "OH!", and the rapid combinations (there is a 10-punch combo in there!) are just scintillating.

    What I think makes this a special performance is that Buddy is badly hurt a couple of times. Sweet Pea didn't really carry his power above 135, and Buddy only ever suffered two stoppage defeats in his long career, one of those was when he was well past his best, the other when he was overwhelmed by the whirlwind that was a peak Meldrick Taylor. Whitaker shouldn't really have been able to hurt McGirt, he had the ability to outbox him sure, but logic told you that Whitaker didn't have the artillery to visibly hurt Buddy - but the sheer quality of Whitaker's punching took the fight to somewhere unexpected.


    What did you guys think of the fight? Am I overrating this, or is it indeed a modern masterclass of punching? Can you think of a better exhibition? :bbb
     
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
    #1
  2. lora

    lora Fighting Zapata Full Member

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    It's an odd fight, while obviously pea had something to do with it and was looking as sharp as he ever was at 147, Buddy looked like he had hit the wall early in it and offered next to nothing for most of the fight, similar to his performance against Taylor, though he gave the eardrum excuse there.

    Looked like a shot legless fighter in there.Kind of reminds me of a more extreme Konadu vs Johnny Tapia, though it looked very different.

    For a balance of technical and brutal, Hagler vs Sibbo is one of the first that comes to mind.
     
    lora, Jun 9, 2010
    lora, Jun 9, 2010
    #2
  3. horst

    horst Guest

    I suppose there are a lot of similarities between Whitaker-McGirt II and Mayweather-Mosley.

    Hagler-Sibson is a superb performance as well, Hagler uses his jab like a rifle.
     
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
    #3
  4. sweet_scientist

    sweet_scientist Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Was definitely a past-prime Buddy in there, but Whitaker did put together quite an impressive offensive display.

    I love that 10 punch combo at the end of the 6th round. Who the hell lands a 10 punch combo on a fighter with Buddy's level of defense? Pernell Whitaker, that's who.

    Some good punching exhibitions that come to mind:

    Ernesto Marcel vs. Antonio Gomez
    Ray Robinson vs. Jake LaMotta VI
    Pernell Whitaker vs. Greg Haugen
    Floyd Mayweather vs. Arturo Gatti
    Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton
    Kostya Tszyu vs. Miguel Angel Gonzalez
    Jose Napoles vs. Curtis Cokes I
    Buddy McGirt vs. Frankie Warren II


    Not surprisingly, a lot of these performances are against guys on the slide.
     
    sweet_scientist, Jun 9, 2010
    sweet_scientist, Jun 9, 2010
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  5. itrymariti

    itrymariti Cañas! Full Member

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    McGirt did gas out pretty quick, whether it was because he was tumbling down the hill or because Whitaker was just overwhelming him. But even in the early rounds it did seem like Whitaker had made serious offensive adjustments since the first fight, and was just dominating every exchange with his accurate combination punching like you say. Buddy had absolutely no answer for the jab, too.
     
    itrymariti, Jun 9, 2010
    itrymariti, Jun 9, 2010
    #5
  6. horst

    horst Guest

    Yeah, this is my sentiments exactly :good
     
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
    #6
  7. horst

    horst Guest

    The only one there I'm not familiar with is Marcel vs Gomez, will track it down, thanks for the tip and the input.
     
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
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  8. teeto

    teeto Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    Good thread Popkins. Marcel was a good fighter also.
     
    teeto, Jun 9, 2010
    teeto, Jun 9, 2010
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  9. lora

    lora Fighting Zapata Full Member

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    Curry, Chitalada and Eubank were always good for punchpicking exhibitions when they had the right style or level of opponent in front of them.

    Curry vs Colin Jones is an awesome display for his textbook combos against the very methodical, slow starting welshman.
     
    lora, Jun 9, 2010
    lora, Jun 9, 2010
    #9
  10. GPater11093

    GPater11093 Barry Full Member

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    Just ordered the Marcel fight from RB, glad to hear it is a good display.

    Would anyone say Duran vs deJesus II?
     
    GPater11093, Jun 9, 2010
    GPater11093, Jun 9, 2010
    #10
  11. Addie

    Addie Myung Woo Yuh! Full Member

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    Got a paper round to cater your Boxing needs little lad?

    ...Good times. :good
     
    Addie, Jun 9, 2010
    Addie, Jun 9, 2010
    #11
  12. teeto

    teeto Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    :rofl
     
    teeto, Jun 9, 2010
    teeto, Jun 9, 2010
    #12
  13. horst

    horst Guest

    I agree on Curry, there are certain fights where his punching is just supreme. He is fantastic vs the Bodysnatcher before the roof caves in on him.

    I've seen a lot of Eubank, but I'd never think to put him in this sort of company. In which fights specifically did you think he exhibited this ability?
     
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
    horst, Jun 9, 2010
    #13
  14. MRBILL

    MRBILL Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Both fights of 1993 and '94 bored the **** outta me............ McGirt fought timid and clueless BOTH times.......... Hurt shoulder or not, McGirt was good, but also overrated......

    Perny Whitaker pretty much out-classed McGirt each time.........

    MR.BILL:scaredas::good
     
    MRBILL, Jun 9, 2010
    MRBILL, Jun 9, 2010
    #14
  15. Tin_Ribs

    Tin_Ribs Me Full Member

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    These were the first two fights that sprung to mind when I read the thread title, especially Napoles-Cokes I. Cokes was an excellent champion and a great fighter in his own, but the job that Napoles did on him was top dollar.

    Btw, interesting thread Pops ;)
     
    Tin_Ribs, Jun 9, 2010
    Tin_Ribs, Jun 9, 2010
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