:think i have looked at some tapes/highlights and tribute vid of him and just notcied that that left hand is potent.maybe not tyson power but had far more pop than people seem to believe. his ko of hurtado was brutal:admin complelty knocked of conciusness of the earth anyways discuss am i wrong to think he has more power than most people opinion on?
His knockout of Hurtado was better than Kostya Tsyzu's. He was a better puncher at 135 but he had more pop than people realize.
Whitaker's knockout over Nazario was a sight to behold. A straight left hand landed square on Nazario's jaw, delayed reaction, then he collapsed like a cheap tent. He took the full 10 count and was on the canvas for a couple of minutes. Whitaker was behind on points against Hurtado, and managed to get the stoppage he needed to set up the De La Hoya match. Evidence that he was indeed a truely great fighter, as he pulled out the KO win when he wasn't known for his power. Whitaker was never a good puncher, never mind a devastating puncher. Even his biggest fans would agree. He rarely stopped opponents. Thats my own favourite criteria for rating how good a fighter is, take away his power and what does he have?. If a fighter doesn't have much to his game if you take away his power, more than likely he's not a fighter who's at the top of my list.
Coming from an almost completely defensive southpaw who studies Pea a ton cause thats the closest to my comfortable style... Most southpaws have underrated Straights/Crosses, the thing is, theyre so fast(the punch, doesnt mean all southpaws are fast, but most southpaws had a fast cross, even hagler had a lightning fast cross), and unexpected, especially coming from someone as slick and fast as Pea, plus its usually after you miss a punch and are off balance, add great timing to that, and i'd say exceptional power. That makes a good puncher to me, you dont have to be a strong puncher to be a great puncher, ever see Pernell go to the body? Watch a couple fights where hes doing it(main one i remember is the Mayweather fight), and pay extra attention, i've seen him slow people down pretty good. I feel that the Straight is the best punch i have in my arsenal, though i throw twice as many jabs, but when i set it up it just comes out of no where, like i said, how unexpected it is, and the opponant being off balance is what makes the southpaw cross so deadly in my opinion. (For slick fighters at least.)
Yeah, he sat on his punches more the second time around with Jose Luis Ramirez and he effected him quite a bit more than once. None too shabby for a guy with 17 knockouts in 40 wins.
Whitaker was one of those guys who could punch hard enough to get respect, and you wouldn't want to get hit by him, but he most certainly was not a puncher by any means. He wasn't totally feather fisted, but he was one of those guys with decent enough pop to let you know you were hit, but not to daze or hurt you unless he caught you just right or from an off angle and you didn't see it coming, as is often the case with southpaws. But he relied more on speed and volume, and defensive skill than anything. He wasn't weak, but he wasn't strong either. Of course it's all relative, but in the world of elite fighters, I'd say he hit less hard than most of the guys he beat. Hurtado he beat because Hurtado wore himself out by running around and throwing too hard and fast for too long, and the seasoned veteran finally caught up with a guy who was fatiguing, who didn't have the greatest chin to begin with, and who was mostly used to the 3 round amateur fight. That said, I do agree that the Hurtado fight was a great win for Pernell because he almost lost. It was Pernell's Louis-Conn.
If Winky Wright is a '2' in punching power out of 10, Pernell is a '4'. Their hardest shots of course...
Whitaker is on the whole highly underrated. He was a great, great fighter. I rate him as the 2nd best lightweight ever, just barely behind Duran. However, his power was his weakest attribute. He couldn't crack an egg. I really think he was feather fisted, but it didn't matter as he was so great at everything else. He could break down fighters with his accumulation of blows so his lack of power didn't really affect his ability to stop opponents.
Ah, my friend. I am tired of engaging in a debate that has nothing at all to do with Joe Calzaghe, only to end up having to end up defending Joe Calzaghe because certain human excrement can think of no better retort than to attack JC. Therefore, problem solved, one of my current favourites Cristian Mijares.
A fighter who cannot crack an eggshell rarely can do much in accumulation, Whitaker hurt, dropped and sometimes stopped very decent opponents. A current feather fist would be Cory Spinks, he cannot even stop the C level, or even stun them for that matter.
