Pernell Whitaker v Manny Pacquaio

Mickey Walker once said he prefers fighting hws because they are so slow and clumsy. I guess Pac feels a bit similar.

 

I think he'd need something to keep Pacquiao off him though and I don't think he has that. Obviously he wouldn't try and walk Pacquiao down and stop him, but we now know after the Margarito fight, just what a great chin Pacquiao has. He would walk through Whitaker's shots.

I do agree that Whitaker is "more or less incapable of being trapped" but I think Pacquiao, more than any other fighter, would give him troubles finding that space. He would be the first opponent Whitaker has fought with clearly faster feet and I can't see Whitaker being able to use his trademark foot movement. The head movement he has, would be matched by Pacquiao's rapid combinations.

 

The jab. That thing we've never seen Pacquiao put to the test against.:good

The same can be and was said for pretty much any other opponent of Pete's. Not that it made much difference.

Again, it all comes down to the jab. Whitaker wasn't great at fighting off the backfoot just because he had great lateral movement, he was great at it because he nullified his opponent's attack with a combo of great defense and a superb right jab, not allowing them to find the range to set for an attack. An explosive, attacking, straight-line fighter like Pacquiao with defensive liabilities isn't going to have nearly as much success constantly being lead around the ring (we saw that when Cotto opted to box for Christ's sake, to say nothing of Whitaker). He's unable to dictate the pace fighting that way and unable to use his in and out movement, as he's relegated to constantly moving forward. He showed against Cotto that he was unable to cut off the ring effectively. Against Whitaker those problems, along with his defensive liabilities, would manifest themselves 10-fold. And once again, even if he were able to find the range from time to time, there's always that jab.

 

i will go with pacquiao.Why? Because pac is super human and whiticker is just great.Whiticker at his best could possibly have defeated and dominated delahoya,hatton,cotto,clottey,and margarito.But he could never do what pac did to these guys,which is destroy and demoralize them.whitickers southpaw ultra slick style would cause pac some problems,but pac hits very hard and would do plenty of damage when he lands with his devastating flurries.pac is too busy and too tireless and too stong and wins on points 8-4 in rnds. then whiticker would be wanting pac tested for super soldier serum.

 

Manny Pacquiao would present Whitaker a package he never had to face, and would probably have his share of moments against Sweet Pea.

Pacquiao is the ultimate offensive fighter, athletically speaking. Joe Louis and Julio Cesar Chavez have the best offenses I've ever seen, but their offenses were different. Louis and Chavez delivered systematic destruction. Pacquiao is an unpredictable whirlwind. Pacquiao has enough pop, in either hand, to get the respect of tough welters; and can match speed with most anyone. All of this is accompanied by a good chin and the ability to throw over 100 punches per round.

That said, I still think this fight is controlled by Whitaker's jab. Whitaker would disrupt Pacquiao's offensive onslaught with his jab. Then, when Pacquiao began to try to employ his tag and circle game that generates the openings that make him look spectacular against larger opponents, Whitaker would be content to score with his jab at this range.

Again, I think Pacquiao would have his moments. He may drop Whitaker a time or two. I just don't see Pac finding a way to get around Pea's jab.

Whitaker ud

 

This is true. Marquez countering, timing, and precision controlled emmanuel.

 

Let's not forget that Manny's style is also significantly more judge-friendly. It wouldn't be out of the question that Whitaker outboxes him but still loses on points, especially because Manny would certainly land more on him than any of his other opponents.

 

If anything, I'm more convinced after the Margarito fight that Whitaker would school him than I was before hand. If a bum like Margarito can land 200+ punches on him, Whitaker would do a paint job on him no one would forget.

 

Would "whiticker" have lost to Erik Morales and gone even money with Juan Manuel Marquez like the super human one?

 

Wouldn't you say that Pac has improved since then, though?

 

pac might of improved but morales and marquez are far more skilled than margarito or cotto or hatton so pacs level of opponent may of gone up in size but has been of a lesser quality

 

He's definetly improved since the Morales loss, no doubt about that. With regards to Marquez the 2nd time you could put that down to styles. 3 months after this fight he looked out of this world good against Diaz. Now Diaz is certainly an inferior fighter to those he has faced since but all the skills he has used since where in view that night and he looked every bit the fighter then he looks now. You argue he was struggling with the weight at 130 though

 

maybe because no ordinary boxer does that to a margarito let alone display such clinical beatdown against other fighters.

i could as well say that how the rafael pineda fight would influence anyone to think that pernell clowns manny is mind boggling

 

this is seriously wrong, you can say this about any other fighter or at least about pacquiao in his featherweight days but not about today's version of pac. no one punches at unpredictable angles like pac.

 

In his bursts, I mean. He attacks in bursts, throwing straight punches in bunches. This is a style that only works when you're able to dictate the pace and range. Notice how little of it Manny was able to do when Cotto started to box behind the jab. He was left plodding forward with much less success. Still winning, of course, due to Cotto's condition at the time (and general ineptitude), but showing clear flaws that people don't seem to want to grasp.

I actually agree with sweet_scientist here. This fight wouldn't be close.