This fight could have taken place early 1992 at welter. At this point both had just the one loss and this was before Taylor began his rapid decline as such. So 12 rounds of boxing at welter weight between two hugely skilled fighters, who wins?
I would likely have picked Taylor at the time, but I think Whitaker would likely take an 8-4 type of decision
Pre-Chavez Taylor against Whitaker at 140 would be very close. By 1992, I'd pick Whitaker comfortably.
At that juncture, Pernell had just stepped up to 140 lbs and beat the durable and skilled fringe contender Harold Brazier. Meldrick was at 147 lbs. since 1991. Still, I think Pernell would outslick Taylor for a UD.
I would think someone like yourself, who prides himself as being an "expert" would appreciate the subtleties of elite boxers. Anyway, I can think of more boring matchups. For example it was talked about matching Whitaker with a faded Camacho around 1993-1994. Now, that would have been a snooze fest.
Whitaker had a gift for neutralizing attacks; not just defending against and slipping punches but making fighters hesitate to commit. Meldrick throws a lot early and wins a couple of those rounds through sheer activity, but Whitaker levels out the aggression around the fourth and costs to a comfortable decision.
What are you talking about? This would be an excellent match-up of skill and talent.... and would have been even better a year or 18 months earlier if Pea could have come up in weight. By 1992, Pernell would have too much left for Meldrick and wins a decision, shaking him a couple times with hard lefts.
Even at their respective bests I’d go with Whitaker. By 1992 Meldrick was already fading and frankly I don’t think he ever fully recovered from the first Chavez fight physically or mentally.
