I've been watching some Pernell Whitaker vids lately, and hwat I've noticed is that he seems to be constantly flatfooted instead of on the balls of his feet, which I would normally expect to see from a quick defensive fighter. Does staying flat footed give some sort of advantage? Maybe in balance perhaps?
With the way Pernell moved his upper body; I would think his being somewhat flat footed helped his balance a fair bit. I know other guys who do similar upper body movements (obviously not comparing them to Sweet Pea's level), and they tend to be somewhat flat footed too. I think it helps you to move your upper body only while keeping your feet planted.
Kolya's right I think. Such footing allowed him to squirm around and deke and dodge while still being within range to get his own shots off. That said, few if any trainers would teach what he did; he had freakish reflexes and quickness, and got away with a lot of terribly unorthodox stuff. Seeing stuff like is being described here always makes me wonder why some would call him a runner. He was more that way early on before he got a lot of experience, but once he did, and began climbing in weight, he was always in the pocket.
His weight is on the balls of his feet, which is the correct method. He simply isn't bouncey on his tos, which is the wrong method. This is when he was using his feet to evade shots. When he was using other methods like head and arm movement then the weight distribution on his feet changes.
Good comments above. I find that especially true for Mayweather that at times he would stand his ground completely flat footed and just shrug off an entire volley of punches using his upper body. Defense AND countering is just better that way because your actual foot position remains the same. Hopping around doesn't give you a constant anchorage, and you tend to hop away a lot, taking yourself out of range and stability to return fire.
