Prenell Whitaker-Meldrick Taylor if they fought.

Breland and Taylor were definitely more highly regarded, but I wouldn't say Whitaker was an afterthought. Pernell was somewhat inconsistent, (hardly even made the Olympic team) but when he got there he basically stole the show, pretty much being regarded the standout fighter of the Olympics.

Taylor was highly regarded because he was so young and it was thought that he could continue to develop and become much better when he reached full maturity, and Breland was a magnificent amatuer who was expected to kick on in the transition to the pro's. But Whitaker, even back in the day, had that touch of class than no one else in the Duva stable had. Holyfield had said back in the day that he thought Whitaker will be the most succesful of the 84 Olympians because of his great technique. Pernell had his props but he was more of an X factor.

 

A VERY hard match but I think Whitaker had the superior defence and would time Taylor.

Maybe a bit like Floyd v Zab but on a higher level and without Pernell being as offensive as Floyd.

 

Whitaker takes this one by UD imo.

 

I'd be willing to put money on Whitaker. As fast as Meldrick was, he was there to be hit.

 

I'm not quite sure it was like that, Whitaker too won at the 1984 games and was definitely considered a tomorrow's champion. Whitaker schooled Ramirez and got robbed off the title before Taylor had his shot. Even then Whitaker was only 5 months behind Taylor in setting things straight and nabbing a crown. Breland was already dethroned and damaged goods by the end of 1987. I remember Whitaker got stacks of press from a very early stage. He beat Mayweather in just his 12th pro fight in 87, everybody knew he was special way early.

 

Not quite as I remember it. I always thought of Whitaker as the ugly duckling who was around the superstars (Taylor, Breland, Holyfield and Biggs). As story developed, Whitaker worked his way to second only to Holyfield and probably by doing that, saved Duva's promotion by making up for losses of Breland and Biggs as well as Taylor going bust before his time.

 

Throwing more punches doesn't mean you are more offensive. Floyd was using his strength and power more than Pernell probably has in his entire career.

 

I gonna go with Taylor UD his punch output and speed would enable him to land a lot more on Whitaker then anyone else.

 

Probably a fair call, although none of this stuff will ever be written in stone.

I think a lot of people are basing their preference for Whitaker on the fact that Taylor declined dramatically after the Chavez and Norris defeats, while Whitaker continued to climb to new heights. Taylor was actually a very fast, talented, and well conditioned fighter, who for a brief period, was every bit as good as even the best pound for pound fighters. His bouts with Buddy Mcgirt, Courtney Hooper, Julio Chavez, Aaron Davis, and Glenwood Brown were some of the best Welterweight works I had seen in a lot of years. What's more, he was a natural to the 140 something pound ranks, whreas Whitaker was more indiginous to lightweight.

I'm probably a minority here, but I'd pick a 1989 Taylor to decision Whitaker at just about any phase of his career.

 

ji do belive it was aaron davis my friend

 

i think it could go either way and would love to see it but would probably go with taylor by close decision on this one........pernells defense was great but taylors speed was fast enough so peas reaction time would be offset a bit. both would be hit but taylors workrate gets him a tough fought decision in my book

 

Sparring matches don't always tell the whole story. Tyson was floored in sparring by Greg Page, so what does that tell ya?

Besides, the press tends to blow these sparring tales out of proportion.

 

pernells defense was highly based on his reaction times and although i am far from certain dont u think its possible thats taylors fast hands would offset this and allow him to land on pea more frequently than others??

 

not disagreeing bc i can see this being the case as well but i like to look at all angles of a fight....good points though

 

Whitakers defence was not based on reflexes. It was a good defence. He could move his feet, head or arms to evade shots.

Whitaker has made opponents faster than himself continously miss i.e. DLH.

Whitaker would have no issue fighting on the inside.